


The Caged Sparrow

by isaymeow, MikazukiMunechika305



Series: The Sparrow and the Wolf [2]
Category: Hakuouki
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-05-25 10:27:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 63,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6191455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isaymeow/pseuds/isaymeow, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikazukiMunechika305/pseuds/MikazukiMunechika305
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Story Type:</b> Full-Length</p><p><b>Description:</b> Looking to make a name for the Mibu Rōshigumi, Serizawa took several captains with him to police the city of Osaka. While there he got into a drunken battle against several sumo fighters, forcing Okita and the others to defend him and kill those men in battle. But when he returned to Kyoto he didn’t arrive with just blood on his hands; he also had a new servant, a young woman named Suzume Hitomi. Forced to leave her home in order to spare her uncle’s life, this gentle beauty would quickly become embroiled in the violent world of the Rōshigumi. She finds friendship and love within the compound walls, but is caught in the sights of a man with an ugly soul. Would Hitomi ever be able to find her freedom, or would fate lead her down another path?</p><p><b>Warnings:</b> There will be moments of abuse/violence in this story. Please note that during this period it was commonplace for male samurai to treat women as objects; however these depicted instances do not reflect the ideals of the authors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Don't Cry over Spilt Sake

“Serizawa-sama, your sake,” Hitomi said while setting the tray down in front of him as Ryunosuke massaged his shoulders. She quietly poured his drink, then moved over to the remaining two other Rōshigumi members, “I have your tea as well Kondou-sama, Hijikata-sama.”  
  
“Arigatou Suzume-san,” Kondou said, “I love your matcha, It’s always perfect.” She bowed her head respectfully and smiled at his kind words.  Just as she began to pour their tea a sake cup came flying past her head, hitting the back wall and shattering. Hitomi tried desperately not to wince as she heard him coarsely yell, “Wench, this sake is too cool, bring me another one!”

Hijikata’s stoic face moved into a sneer as Kondou took the pot from her hands with a forced smile, “I can pour our tea, thank you.” Hitomi bowed once again and stood up, retrieving his bottle without saying a single word. It had been nearly two weeks since she had been taken from her uncle’s restaurant in Osaka and dragged to Kyoto by commander Serizawa Kamo of the Rōshigumi. It hadn’t been an easy transition for her, but she understood why it had to be done.  Her uncle had a wife and two children to provide for, so she had to be the one to pay the debt.

“Suzume-kun, Why have you returned,” asked the older male cook, “did he finish that bottle already?” Hitomi shook her head slightly and said, “Gomenasai, but he thought the sake was too cold, could you prepare another please?” He sighed, “Ne, Suzume-kun there is no need to apologize. I should have double checked it before I sent you off. I’m just glad you’re not wearing the sake.” Hitomi’s gentle smile spread on her face and she kissed the old man on the cheek, “thank you for worrying about me Miyagi-sama.”

“Well someone’s got to,” he muttered trying to hide his smile while getting back to work on preparing another bottle, “You don’t belong here Suzume-kun, you’re too kind of a woman to be around these brutes.” This is where the wind had blown her for now, and perhaps there was a reason for it, or rather at least that what she had hoped. After a few minutes the next bottle was prepared and tested, she bowed and left just as quietly as she had arrived.

Hitomi hummed to herself to lighten her mood as she carefully carried the sake tray back to the meeting room, her auburn waves fluttering in the subtle breeze. She was enjoying the feel of the sunlight and the sound of the birds, that was until she heard the booming voice of Serizawa.

Ryunosuke sighed in annoyance; he didn’t want to have to massage Serizawa’s shoulders anymore - he didn’t even understand why and how he had ended up like this. “Why is it so hard to please you,” he murmured and immediately regretted it when Serizawa turned around and asked fretfully, “Did you say something, dog?”

“Nothing,” he replied, but the older man already grabbed his hair to toss him towards the door. “At least do something useful and find out what’s taking that wench so long!” Since they were sitting close to the door, thanks to Serizawa’s forceful, angry push, he slid backwards across the floor and the door flung open when his back hit it painfully. “Ouch!” he called out in pain, and then, he felt himself hit another body behind him. A shocked “Oh no!” slipped out of his mouth when he found himself lying atop of Hitomi, and he hurried to get up. “I’m sorry!” If it had been any of the other Rōshigumi men, he’d have complained about how they should watch where they were going, but it was something entirely else with Hitomi. First of all, she was a girl, and secondly, she shared his fate of being dragged into the Rōshigumi’s business involuntarily.

Hitomi let out a muffled “Oooofff” sound as she hit the ground and Ryunosuke landed on top of her. He seemed extremely embarrassed as he quickly stood up and apologized to her. “I’m fine Ibuki-kun,“ She said while standing up, the sleeve and chest of her kimono were drenched with the warmed alcohol. Serizawa’s voice once again boomed, “I don’t care about you two, I care about my Sake.” He growled and smacked Ryunosuke on the head with his fan saying, “This is all your fault dog.” He then turned to her and shook the fan in front of her face, “I expected better serving skills out of you wench since that was your job wasn’t it, or were you just a useless flower at that excuse for a noodle shop?”

“Gomenasai Serizawa-sama,” she apologized while bowing, “I can go get you…”

“Don’t bother, I’m going out,” he growled, “You two clean up this mess before I return.” The older man promptly turned around and walked away, and Hijikata and Kondo exited the room as well.

“Wait, Hitomi, I’ll get a cloth to clean it up.” Ryunosuke hurried to get two cloths and handed one of them to Hitomi when he returned. “Ouch, his hits hurt worse than Harada’s.” As soon as he was sure that Serizawa wouldn’t be able to hear him, he mumbled, “I hate him so much… I just want to leave this place, but I guess they’ll kill me if I try.”

Hitomi wiped down herself then began to clean the floor as Ryunosuke mumbled to himself while picking up the broken pieces of ceramic. “Neeeeeeeee Hitomi,” said Heisuke as he came running over, “I heard Kondou and Hijikata talking about what happened. This dumbass didn’t hurt you did he?” Heisuke had been one of the only Rōshigumi members to really talk with her since she arrived. He was like having a little brother even though she was only older than him by a year. Hitomi smiled and said waved her hand, “No, No, I’m fine Heisuke-kun.”

Heisuke glared and lectured, “Ryunosuke you gotta be more careful. Remember that your stupid mistakes can hurt other people.”

When Heisuke started lecturing him, Ryunosuke furrowed his eyebrows. “Hey, It wasn’t my fault, anyways. How should I know that she was gonna enter the room just the second when Serizawa-san decided to bully me again?! How should I have prevented this from happening? And I already apologized!”

“Heisuke-kun, Ibuki-kun,” Hitomi said with a smile, “This is nothing to get worked up over, It was just an accident and everyone is fine.”  She did feel bad for Ryunosuke because he did have a rough day, even if he brought it upon himself.

Her eyes looked over and she noticed the blood on Heisuke’s haori. “Oh, Heisuke are you alright?” she said while inspecting the blue uniform. “I’m fine Hitomi, the other guy wasn’t though,” he said in a voice that sounded as if he was trying to act tough. Hitomi frowned, “This is the second time this week you’ve come back from your rounds with blood on you. Come on, Let’s clean this up before it stains.” She turned to Ryunosuke and asked, “Ibuki-kun, would you mind helping me take down the rest of the laundry while I clean this?

Ryunosuke frowned briefly before following them and started pulling down the unit’s laundry. “I don’t want to criticize you Hitomi, but he’s a samurai. They usually have to fight at their rounds and people bleed when they’re injured,” he said in a snarky tone.

“Ibuki-kun I know he will always face bloodshed.” Even though Hitomi was a young woman she knew all about samurai since her father was one in Sendai. She remembered how her mother always kept her father’s uniform clean and fixed any damage done in battle. “But I also understand how important it is to keep your uniform well kept, It’s a matter of pride and respect.”  
  
Ryunosuke looked at her surprised, he was the son of a samurai and he didn’t know that. When Heisuke nodded in agreement he couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed as Hitomi placed the Haori in a bucket of warm water to soak.  
  
“Now let me take a look at your arm,” She said with a sweet smile. Heisuke sat beside her and she began to clean the wound carefully with water. “That’s quite a deep gash Heisuke, does it hurt,” she asked. He pouted a bit and said, “..maybe a little.”  
  
“Heisuke, if it’s that bad maybe I should call over Harada. He’ll gladly treat that wound for you, with a lot of liquor.”

“Oh Hell no Ryunosuke,” Heisuke said quickly, “I will not call Sano. There’s a reason I go to Hitomi instead!” Hitomi wrapped his wound while Heisuke commented, “I wish Serizawa would let you be our nurse, you are good at this stuff.” She giggled and teased, “Well maybe it’s because you give me a lot of practice!”

“Hey, I’m not hurt that often…and when I do it’s because I’m slaying ronin and protecting Kyoto,” Heisuke commented as she returned to the bucket and started to scrub his haori, “I’m not like Ryunosuke who gets hurt when he crosses the commander.”

“Oy Oy, what are you blabbing about Heisuke?”

“Did Ryunosuke get into trouble /again/? What was it this time?”  
  
Hitomi wrung out and hung his Haori on the clothesline as two other men approached. She recognized the one as Nagakura Shinpachi, however the other she had not met before. He was very tall, muscular, and had brilliant red hair. For a moment she caught herself staring, then she shyly turned away to focus on the laundry

“NO!” Ryunosuke called out and moved backwards a little, mentally already prepared for the hit that would probably await him now. “It wasn’t me this time! Okay, well, maybe a little because i mumbled something, but… It was Serizawa! Really! She was my witness!”

“What happened?” Harada asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Uh, you see, Serizawa got angry at me. He grabbed my hair and pushed me towards the door Hitomi was about to come in… and I accidentally fell on top of her and… OUCH! Do you always have to hit me?!” Apparently, not even mental preparation made Harada’s hits hurt less. “And you hit exactly the same place Serizawa-san hit before! You’re the worst!”  
  
Nagakura sighed and shook his head, “Now that he’s taken care of you, shouldn’t ya introduce him?”

“Why me? You can introduce him yourself. You have a mouth and can speak too ya know.”

Again, Harada’s hand hit the back of his head and he screamed in pain. “Because you’re the one who works together with her. Besides we are the ones who let you live here on our cost; We could always just kill you so we’d have one less problem.”

“…and you call yourselves friends?” Ryunosuke mumbled, and Nagakura laughed, “Hey, he’s just teasing you!”

“I know.” The blue-haired boy let out a heavy sigh, “Fine. This is Harada Sanosuke, Harada, this is Suzume Hitomi.”

Hitomi bowed her head slowly, “Nice to meet you Harada-san, and nice to see you again Nagakura-san.” The red haired one moved in close to her and took her hand saying, “The pleasure is all mine, Hitomi.” Her cheeks instantly burned red and she lowered her eyes, “…Arigatou Harada-san.”

“Heisuke, no wonder you’ve been spending a lot of time over here. Are you trying to keep her all for yourself?” he teased while slowly backing away, making Heisuke turn red and yell, “It’s not like that Sano! I’m not like you remember? She just helps me out so I look after her, that’s all.” Hitomi blinked at their exchange unsure of what to say, if anything.

Harada tilted his head to the side and asked, “So Hitomi, when did you show up here?” Heisuke walked up to both of them and hushed his tone, “Uh, remember Osaka…she’s the one Kondou-san told us about.” Sanosuke grimaced for a moment looking at the girl, “So you are working for Serizawa then, I'm sorry Hitomi.”

She smiled like always did and said, “There is no need to whisper Heisuke-kun, It’s not a secret what happened so please don’t feel sorry.” Hitomi reached down and lifted up the heavy basket of laundry saying, “It was nice to meet you Harada-san, but I need to get these over to Serizawa-sama’s room before he gets back; I’ve already gotten on his bad side once today.”

“…because of him,” Heisuke added motioning towards Ryunosuke, “otherwise you wouldn’t have dropped Serizawa’s sake.” Harada turned half serious as he said, “Sake was spilled? Ryunosuke no wonder he was so pissed when he left, If there’s one thing you don’t mess with it’s his sake…”

“I already told you it’s not my fault!” Now Nagakura patted his shoulder, acting compassionately. “Poor Ryunosuke, I guess that’s the hard life of someone who works for Serizawa.”

“Anyways, Ryunosuke,” Harada cut in, “shouldn’t you help Hitomi? You can’t make a beautiful lady do all the hard work alone.” Ryunosuke growled as he stretched out his hands for the basket, “Don’t tell me what to do Harada! Come on Hitomi, I’ll take it.”

Hitomi’s eyes darted away to the ground once more; did Harada just call her beautiful? After being called a ‘wench’ regularly it was quite a change to hear something like that.  Ryunosuke growled before offering to help, but she knew it was only because the others had teased him. “Thank you Ibuki-kun,” she said while handing him the basket and giving him a big smile to try and cheer him up. She gave the three men a bow once more before they left for Serizawa’s room.

“Harada-san seems really nice,” Hitomi said while placing his laundry in it’s rightful spots, and being careful to ensure they were folded properly, “…and they both seem to care about you as well. They tease you as if you were their younger brother.” 

“I know, but…” Ryunosuke pouted a little. “Sometimes they go too far. Like back then when I got into a fight and Harada saved me. My back was cut and he felt guilty because I had been on patrols with him so he wanted to disinfect the injury with liquor. It hurt like hell! And he didn’t stop when I asked him to, he just went on as if I wasn’t there. I thought I was gonna die, and they just laughed at me!”  
  
“Oh Ibuki-kun,” she said sighing, “well I can see why you were frustrated, but I’m sure they did have good intentions at least since they didn’t want it to get infected.” She smiled as she started replacing the linens on Serizawa’s futon and continued, “it may seem rough, but remember they are Samurai…perhaps they just wanted to make you stronger?”

“Maybe, but of course you would think that after they were just nice to you,” he continued, “You don’t know them like I do. With me they just order me around and are just sometimes downright mean!” He sighed, “And the worst part is that everyone is like this. Even Saitou is practically forcing me to attend his sword practice even though I’m not getting better at all…”  
  
“Saitou-san is training you?,” Hitomi said in a surprised tone, “Have you ever seen him fight? He was so graceful when I watched him on our trip to Kyoto. It was really amazing.”

“…” Ryunosuke remained quiet for a few seconds. “Yeah, but Saitou can be, well, scary too.”

“I was on patrols with Saitou and we walked past a shop that sells swords. He found one he really liked, but it too expensive so he really upset he couldn’t afford it. At dinner every time someone mentioned the word ‘sword’ he would throw his chopsticks at them like a ninja, excusing himself by saying his hand slipped. Everyone ran and left me alone with him, so he kept throwing his chopsticks at me. Sometimes I really think they they aren’t joking and really want to kill me.”

Hitomi wasn’t there for those instances, however all Ryunosuke had done was complain about his situation and the others. He didn’t appear to realize what he had right in front of him; not only with friendship, but also to become stronger. Hitomi stood up and took ahold of his hands to encourage him, “Ibuki-kun you are so lucky that he wants to be your sensei.” She smiled at him brightly and said, “Don’t you see, they want you to get stronger so that you can leave here!”  
  
Ryunosuke leaned back lazily staring at the ceiling, “I guess I should be thankful to them, and I kinda am. But being called 'inu’ the whole day and being made run around like some slave to the unit makes it kinda hard to be thankful to everyone. You understand exactly what I’m talking about right?”  
  
Hitomi frowned and picked up the basket, “Ibuki-kun, you really don’t understand how good you have it here do you?” He may have been picked on or occasionally hit by Serizawa-sama, but he still had some control over his own life to make things better.  
  
Hitomi stood next to him and looked down from above, “And I actually don’t understand what it’s like. I’ve spent my whole life being told what to do by someone else, never being able to make my own choices. I’ve always had to rely on others to survive, whether they are kind or not. I can’t change my path, but you? You can!” She was a maiden with no dowry, no father, and owned nothing but what she needed to survive. If she was alone she would’ve ended up eaten alive in this era. He seemed to forget unlike her, he had a much better chance of succeeding on his own.  
  
She turned around and made her way towards the door, feeling frustrated. “I’m sorry, please don’t be mad at me. It’s not my place to say such things,” she apologized again trying to hold back her tears, “I should just go and get back to my chores.” Hitomi lowered her head and walked outside, making her way back to the main hall since she had to clean the room before dinner.  
  
Ryunosuke stood there shocked, and realized that she was right. While he could take control of his life, as a woman she had no choice. Suddenly he became overwhelmed with guilt; He insulted Kosuzu with his ignorance as well, why was he always such a block head around women?  
  
“N-no, I’m the one who’s sorry Hitomi,” he said apologetically while rushing after her, “You’re right. I’m too selfish at times to see the good things in my life.” He bowed in front of her deeply, and Ryunosuke really meant it. He didn’t want to make her upset or feel unwelcome. “Thank you for being honest with me,” he said sincerely, “From now on I’ll try to stop complaining so much, and try to be more understanding of the situation others are in.”  
  
Hitomi could tell the sincerity behind his words, and she gently patted his shoulder. “Arigatou Ibuki-kun,” she said softly as a smile returned to her lips, “now shall we get back to work so we can take a break before dinner?” Relieved Ryunosuke nodded profusely and followed after her, hoping that he could somehow make up to her for his ignorance.


	2. Red Eyed Monsters

Hitomi sat outside the kitchen, working hard to clean up the mess that “typhoon Okita” left behind from dinner that evening. It was another typical day, There was just an eerie feeling in the air that she couldn’t quite shake. There was no wind, and the night sky was completely shrouded by thick clouds. “I can’t waste any more time, I need to get my work done done before Serizawa asks for his sake,” she said aloud. To ease her mind she hummed quietly to herself while cleaning, drying, and stacking the dishes.  
  
Ryunosuke rubbed his head after taking another hit from Serizawa. He was ordered to do ‘something useful’ and to go get his evening drink, so he headed towards the kitchen where he knew Hitomi would be. As he approached he could hear her humming, and the sound brought a smile to his face. “Hey Hitomi,” Ryunosuke said while leaning against the frame of the kitchen’s door, “Serizawa-san is asking for– ” Suddenly there was a loud noise that boomed from somewhere close by in the compound, followed the sound of shuffling outside. Ryunosuke interrupted himself and said to Hitomi, “I’ll be back, you stay here!”  
  
“Be careful Ibuki-kun,” she said as he ran off in the direction of the commotion. Hitomi did not particularly like the way things sounded outside as fighting erupted, so she quickly ran to lock the kitchen door and closed the shutters. Knowing that she would likely just be in the way, she decided the best thing for her to do was to stay where she was.

Ryunosuke hurried over to where the sound came from, and just as he had expected, he found Harada, Nagakura and Heisuke fighting against some men with white hair and red eyes. Ryunosuke thought he recognized one or two of them and called out, “What are you doing? Aren’t they your comrades?!”

“We don’t know why they’re acting like this...and what the hell are you doing here Ryunosuke?!” Harada growled while jumping in front of the younger boy to block one of the men’s strikes.

“I just wanted to see what was going on…”

“Ryunosuke get out of here,” Nagakura said while struggling with one of the other men, “We can’t watch over you.” A third man moved straight towards Ryunosuke, but Harada jumped in front of him just in time to prevent him from getting slashed. He threw the man back and grit his teeth, “You don’t know how to fight so just get out of our way.”

“Why are they so damn strong,” Nagakura yelled. “And fast,” Harada finished while trying to land a blow on his opponent. Out of nowhere the three white haired creatures jumped high onto the rooftop and started to run.

“Shit, after them,” Nagakura yelled.  
  
Harada and Heisuke were about to chase after them when they heard a woman scream. “That sounded like Hitomi,” Heisuke yelled recognizing the voice. “BAKA, You left her alone didn’t you,” Harada growled, “where is she?”

* * *

Back in the kitchen Hitomi nervously paced back and forth as she heard yelling and the sound of clashing of swords coming closer. Suddenly the roof creaked as someone walked above her, making Hitomi cover her own mouth to keep silent. There was a strange inaudible growl that erupted, and the sound shocked her so much she backed up into the counter, accidentally knocking a set of chopsticks onto the ground. It was just enough noise to grab the attention of whomever was lurking above.

“Oh No,” She gasped as the roof started to shake for a few moments before something broke through from above and landed skillfully on his feet. He looked human, but had white hair and red eyes. A scream rose up her throat as it began to move towards her. Hitomi was trapped, and was unable to make a break for the door. Even if she did it would likely catch her before she could unlock it.

In an effort to protect herself she started throwing anything she could find at it; pots, cups, and plates to keep it away. She heard voices outside and the sound of someone trying to ram the door, but the the man just didn’t seem to care. “BLOOD,” It yelled while suddenly running towards her. The next thing Hitomi knew she was thrown to the floor, and saw a sword hurling towards her. Frozen in place by fear she opened her mouth, but this time a scream wouldn’t come out. 

* * *

Ryunosuke turned around without answering and ran back to the kitchen. He threw himself against the door several times until it broke open; then he was standing inside opposing one of the men with white hair and red eyes from before. It slowly moved towards him, his eyes glowing with a scary expression on his face. “Run, Hitomi! And find someone who can protect you!” Ryunosuke yelled before turning around and running for his life, knowing that the man was following him from his heavy and fast steps.

Hitomi stood up in a daze just as Heisuke ran into the kitchen with his sword in hand. “Hitomi, are you OK? It didn’t hurt you did it?”

“I’m fine, I was able to keep it away from me,” Hitomi said as she motioned towards the various broken objects on the floor, “But now it’s chasing after Ibuki-kun.” He grabbed ahold of her hand and pulled her forward, “don’t worry about him. Let’s get you somewhere safe.” As she followed him to the door she asked, “Is there somewhere safe? I mean, He did break through the roof into the kitchen like some kind of wild animal!” Heisuke cringed and said, “Uh, good point, maybe you should stay with us.”

They stepped outside seconds before Harada and Nagakura showed up, “Hijikata told us to pierce it’s heart, that’s the only way to kill it besides beheading” Nagakura said, “we need to move Heisuke! We can’t let these guys leave headquarters.”

“Haradaaaaaaa, Nagakuraaaaaaa, save meeeeee!”  
  
Harada let out a sigh and took ahold of Hitomi’s other hand, “She’ll stay with me, you two run ahead to Ryunosuke.” Heisuke and Nagakura ran off without hesitation in the direction of Ryunosuke’s voice.  “Hitomi, I need you to stay close and do exactly as I say, alright?” She nodded and said, “Of course, Harada-san.” He smiled and once again she was being pulled forward into a sprint, “Good, now let’s go find that idiot.” When they arrived in the main courtyard she could see Ryunosuke being held above the ground by his shirt as Nagakura and Heisuke circled the man with the white hair.  
  
Ryunosuke gasped and struggled to free himself from the strong grip. “Let… let go of me! What are you… doing anyways?! Running around and–”

“Blood,” the white haired man interrupted him, “I want blood!”

Harada joined them and said, “Stay behind me Hitomi, this isn’t something a lady should see.” She quickly moved behind him, her hands clinging to the back of his blue and white haori as she stared at his back. “Ryunosuke, don’t move,” shouted Harada.  
  
The red spear shot forward, hitting the man’s shoulder, making him loosen his grip. Finally Ryunosuke could free himself and fled behind Harada. “Hitomi?” he said in surprise when he saw her, “what are you doing here?” She gave him a worried look and explained, “Harada-san wanted me to stay with him, are you OK Ibuki kun?” He shrugged while massaging his aching throat, realizing that being almost strangled wasn’t a very nice experience.

“Ryunosuke, pay attention!” Heisuke called out, throwing himself between the white haired man and Ryunosuke. “Sorry Heisuke,” he said in a low, nervous tone, “Just what the hell are they?!”

“Hell If I know, we just need to kill them,” Heisuke said while struggling against the man. He finally had an opening, but hesitated actually attacking his former comrade. Thankfully the end of Nagakura’s sword pierced through the back of it, sending a stream or warm blood towards Heisuke and Ryunosuke. The creature finally slumped down to the ground, the red fading from his eyes as well as the white hair.

“Harada-san, look to your left!” Hitomi said noticing the glint of an incoming sword. Harada spun his body, and while one hand was on his spear the other pulled her in close to his chest. She heard the sound of the sword striking the spear behind her, but a momentary groan escaped Harada’s mouth as his hand loosened around her waist. Hitomi was no fool, and she knew he was hit while protecting her. She had no time to react as she heard him say, “Quick, hold onto me and don’t let go until I say so.”

Hitomi did as he asked, quickly grabbing ahold of his waist just as he let go of her and lunged forward, covering her with his large haori. The force of his movement was almost enough to knock her backwards, but she continued to hold onto him tightly. A sickening sound filled the air behind her of the spear piercing the chest of another. “It’s dead,” Harada said while breathing heavily from exhaustion.  
  
Ryunosuke fell to the ground, coughing a little. “Where did they suddenly come from?”

“I think Yukimura Koudou brought them,” Nagakura said.

“Who is he?” Ryunosuke asked, “I don’t think I’ve met him yet.”

“Be glad you haven’t; he’s a doctor that wants to introduce a new type of ‘medicine’ to us. I’m seriously worried about what it can do if the ones he brought with him are like this,” Harada mumbled.

“Harada-san, um can I let go now,” Hitomi asked after they finished talking about what just happened. “Hmm, Well only if you want to Hitomi-chan,” he chuckled, “I wouldn’t complain if you stayed there for a bit longer though.”

Hitomi let go trying to hide her embarrassment, stepping away as she bowed her head, “Thank you everyone. I’m sorry that you had to look after me.” She felt a large hand on the top of her head as Harada spoke, “You weren’t trouble at all, In fact I should thank you for warning me about that last guy.” Heisuke nodded, “and you did a good job keeping it busy in the kitchen till we could get there.” She looked at Ryunosuke and said, “If it wasn’t for Ibuki-kun drawing it away I don’t know what would have happened.”

“Ryunosuke was stupid for doing that,” Nagakura said turning his chin up, “Don’t go into danger alone, especially unskilled and unarmed.” He bopped him lightly on the head and said, “You’re lucky we were behind you this time.” Ryunosuke stared up at him, “Hey, at least I’m not unarmed! I always have my sword with me! Well, I guess you’re kinda right, though.” He really had no experience in fighting after all, so in a way he was ‘unarmed’.

Hitomi looked at Ryunosuke sympathetically and tried to change the subject. “Since you were injured would you let me treat your wounds,” Hitomi asked, “That’s the only way I can really repay you all.”

“Thanks, but we need to report back to Hijikata,” Heisuke said. Nagakura nodded, “It’s only a few scratches so don’t worry about us!” Harada winked, “thanks for the offer Hitomi, maybe I’ll have you take a look at it later.”

After they left Ryunosuke followed her back to the kitchen and sighed, “Guess we have to clean this up, huh?”  
  
“Yeah, I sure did make a mess of things,” she said while trying to calm her nerves, “I hope Serizawa doesn’t get mad at me for breaking the dishes.” Hitomi grabbed a broom and started to sweep up the broken pieces into a pile carefully, trying to forget the image of whatever those men were.  
  
“N-no, it’s not your fault!” Ryunosuke replied and knelt down next to her to help her. “Of course you’d have to defend yourself if someone like this attacks you, I would have done the same too.” He dropped his head and went to work, not saying anything further. His mind was filled with guilt for not only leaving her alone, but getting in the way as the other three said. Maybe he really was useless.  
  
Hitomi noticed that Ryunosuke was quiet, and that something was on his mind. She wondered if it was what they had said to him after about being an idiot, since she knew he took those statements too personally. “Ibuki-kun...what Nagakura said...well,” she said quietly,”I just want you to know that _I’m_ glad you did come back for me.”  
  
When she told him that she was glad about him coming back, he blushed slightly. “Well, If there’s anything Harada has taught me it’s to never leave a beautiful woman in danger.”  
  
“You guys need to stop saying that word, you’re going to make me blush,” Hitomi said with a giggle. “Well I mean that’s what he would say; I did it because you’re my friend Hitomi,” Ryunosuke corrected as an embarrassed look formed on his face, “like how Harada and Nagakura are friends.” She smiled as he compared themselves to Harada and Nagakura’s friendship, “I don’t know, I don’t think we are as boisterous as those two, but I know what you mean.”

“Oh…Oh my gosh! I forgot about Serizawa’s Sake!” She said remembering that it was well past the normal time she would deliver his evening drink. Ryunosuke put one hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry, I don’t think they’re back yet. We’re just coming back from all the chaos and the kitchen is destroyed, so when should you have done that?” Hesitating, he smiled at her, “can I help you?”

His hand felt warm on her shoulder, and she began to calm down a bit more. “Arigatou Ibuki-kun,” Hitomi said smiling back, “Have you ever warmed Sake before? I can teach you how if you’d like.” She placed the warming pot over the fire and it was full of water. “So pour the Sake into the tokkuri, Just be careful not to do so too quickly,” Hitomi said while softly guiding his hands. She then placed the tokkuri into the water and began to wait for it to heat up. “Serizawa-sama prefers his sake to be at the exact same temperature as his body,” she explained, “If it’s to hot or too cold he’ll turn it away, I’m sure you’ve seen it before.” Hitomi smiled and continued, “The trick is you make it slightly warmer than needed here, so that by the time you reach the room it’s at the right temperature.”

“Now to test it carefully pick up the tokkuri and pour a drop onto your hand like this,” she explained showing him, “Be careful not to burn yourself.” She put the bottle back in and let it warm for a few more moments as she grabbed a clean tray and sakazuki. Hitomi smiled and asked, “would you like to test it this time? It should be ready now.” Ryunosuke took the tokkuri and poured a drop onto his hand. “I think it’s fine. Let’s go deliver it to him.” 

On their way over to his room, Ryunosuke asked, “Hey, I don’t mean to invade your privacy, but what was your life like before Serizawa-san took you with him? Did you have a family?”  
  
“Both of my parents are dead and I don’t have any siblings,” he explained, “I was on my way to Kyoto and I got beaten up in the forest near town. Serizawa-san basically saved me, although I didn’t know that I’d have to be his slave in exchange. I’m still alive, so at least I have that to be a bit thankful to Serizawa. How about you? I guess you’re certainly not really thankful to any of them, or at least not for the fact that you’re here…”

“My father was a samurai in Sendai, he died when I was only five so I only have a few memories of him,” She explained, “After that we moved to Osaka. My mother grew sick and passed on a few years later. Since then I had been living with my uncle and his family.”  She looked down for a moment and continued, “It wasn’t easy, I was always working hard in their restaurant in order to earn my keep there.”

“When Serizawa-sama came he gave my uncle two choices, die and save his family or give up someone to him to become his servant,” Hitomi said, “I understand why my uncle chose me since I wasn’t his own child, so I don’t hold any ill will towards him.” A smile returned to her face, “but if this is what the gods intended me to do then I certainly will not complain or be angry about living here now.” Her life had been filled with some painful memories, but she always tried to look on the bright side. It was hope that kept her going. “I’m thankful that I have a place to live and that there are some kind people around me,” Hitomi finished, “that’s all I really need.”

They reached Serizawa’s room and he was talking inside, so Hitomi kneeled down and spoke “Serizawa-sama, Please excuse my interruption. I have brought you your evening sake. May I bring it in?”

The door opened and inside she saw two other men with him; an older bald man she didn’t recognize and Niimi. “You arrive late and then you ask me to pardon you for interrupting an important meeting,” He growled while roughly taking the tray from her and setting it down inside the room. “You are utterly useless, like that dog,” Serizawa said while raising his hand and slapping her across the face, “Learn to be respectful towards me wench; even your looks can’t make up for your insolence.”

Her cheek stung and turned bright red, and she swallowed hard in order to keep herself from starting to cry. Hitomi lowered her head and softly replied, “I’m extremely sorry for interrupting and offending you Serizawa-sama, I will not do it again.”

“Dog, come in and massage my shoulders. And don’t you dare telling anyone what we’re talking about now.” Ryunosuke slowly entered the room, giving Hitomi a sympathetic look, and bowed in front of Niimi and the other man before kneeling down behind Serizawa.

Hitomi quickly closed the door behind Ryunosuke and turned back to the kitchen. She quietly cleaned up the remaining mess and got the prep-work for breakfast done to make things easier on Miyagi-san in the morning.

Once she finished she began to go back towards her room when she saw Heisuke’s looking quite down. Hitomi walked over to where he was sitting on the steps to their quarters. “Can’t you sleep Heisuke-kun,” she asked tilting her head to the side. He nodded slightly, so she took a seat beside him, “What’s wrong?”

“I, I couldn’t do it,” he said with a sigh, “I couldn’t kill him, He was one of us.” He laid his head down in her lap and continued, “I can’t hesitate like that again. If It wasn’t for Shinpachi, ugh, someone could have ended up hurt, or worse.” Hitomi shushed him and said, “Well I saw you bravely protected Ibuki-kun and I, and we’re both ok.” He frowned slightly, “…but Hitomi.” She shook her head and interrupted, “I won’t hear anymore of this, you did well Heisuke. Now relax.”

Hitomi began to hum a lullaby that she used to sing to her nephew back in Osaka called Oborozuki yo, and slowly stroked his hair. It took some time, but she could sense his tension slowly start to leave his body. A small smile eventually crept back onto his face. “Hey, Hitomi,” said Heisuke, “...thanks.” She softly smiled and said, “anytime you need me I’ll be here to help Heisuke-kun.” He grinned and closed his eyes, his hands finally loosening their grip on the fabric of her kimono.

“Heisuke, I’m jealous,” said Harada with a smirk while carrying a bottle of sake, “what do I have to do in order to lay down in her lap too?” Nagakura grinned and said, “Yeah, and she was singing to you, She must really like you.” Heisuke growled, “HEY, Hitomi is like a sister to me, so just shove it you two!”  

Both men laughed and joined them on the steps. As Harada started to pour the sake Nagakura asked, “Where’s Ryunosuke at? I thought he’d be with you.” She shook her head, “He was, but after I delivered Serizawa-sama’s sake he was called into the room.”  Harada took a sip from his sake and said, “well I suppose he had to follow orders, I was worried abandoned you again.” He leaned back lazily and finished, “It’s wrong to leave a woman alone after something like that. So if you need to feel safe with someone let me know, I’d be happy to look after you.”  
  
Hitomi turned away from Harada after what he said in an attempt to hide her flushed cheeks. Heisuke grumbled, “I think she’d rather have me look after her Sano.” Harada smirked, “I don’t know, after all I was the one who protected her tonight.” Nagakura laughed and patted Hitomi on the shoulder. “I think all three of us can help keep an eye on her, how’s that sound?” She nodded shyly and responded, “sure, I’d like that.”  
  
After a while Ryunosuke returned, jogging up to them. “What are you still doing out here Hitomi? It’s late, shouldn’t you go to bed so you’re well-rested to face Serizawa-san’s tortures tomorrow?”  
  
Heisuke got up from her lap and said, “I guess it is late huh? I have morning patrol tomorrow so I should get some sleep too.” He grinned looking more like his old self, “Thanks Hitomi for making me feel better, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He cheerfully made his way off towards his room while Harada and Nagakura continued to drink.

“I guess this means I can’t fall asleep on your lap next Hitomi-chan,” Harada said with a frown. Nagakura snorted and muttered something privately to Harada. “Go get some sleep,” he said while lightly nudging her shoulder, “After all, I need you to be well rested so I can eat your delicious cooking tomorrow night.”

Hitomi smiled and stood up, “Goodnight Everyone. Ibuki-Kun I’ll walk back with you.” Their rooms were close to the other captains, but were much smaller and less cozy. After they left the stairs she said, “Ibuki-kun, to be honest I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep much tonight.” She looked down at the ground, staring at her feet as she walked, “I just can’t get the picture of those men and their eyes out of my head.” She frowned, “you don’t think that more of them will come, do you?”  
  
Replying to her question, he said, “I know Serizawa-san ordered me not tell anyone, but I think you won’t let him know that I told you, right? - This Kodou guy brought those men with him, and they apparently were the only ones he had with him for this time.” He hesitated and mumbled to himself, “But that won’t be forever…especially since they plan on making more.”

“I won’t tell him anything,” Hitomi said, “I wouldn’t want you getting into trouble after all.” She listened to him, and when he finished she said, “Well, that makes me feel a little better.” She bowed slightly as they reached their rooms which were next to each other, “Arigatou Ibuki-kun, I’ll see you in the morning.” They both went to sleep, neither of them knowing the chaos that was about to surround the Roshigumi.


	3. Donburi

Hitomi walked from the kitchen to the courtyard carrying an empty basket after finishing her morning chores. She was running on only a few hours sleep, but was still her normal cheery self. It was time for her to head to the market to get some fresh food for dinner that evening. “Good Morning Saitou-san,” she said giving a quick bow to him as he was instructing the men in their morning practice. “Morning, Suzume-san.”  
  
She looked over at Ryunosuke, who seemed exhausted and waved to him before turning back to Saitou. She was surprised, yet happy to see him there practicing after what happened the evening before. “I need to head to the market, and Serizawa-sama ordered I take one of the captains and Ibuki-kun,” she explained, “I hate to burden you, but since Heisuke-kun is on patrol would you be able to escort me? That is if you are done with practice for the morning?”

Ryunosuke let his bamboo sword sink down to wipe the sweat off his forehead before jogging over to Hitomi and Saitou. “So we’re gonna go shopping now? In the middle of practice?”  
  
“I’m happy to see you take your practice so seriously,” Saitou said, “but I believe that the both of you will be better off completing Serizawa-sama’s tasks as soon as possible.” He called out to the men and ordered them to practice on their own for an hour more and then go back to their daily duties before returning back to Hitomi and Ryunosuke. “We can leave now if you’re ready Suzume-san.”

She bowed once again to Saitou and said, “Thank you very much Saitou-san.” The sunlight felt wonderful on her skin, and it was so nice to be able to leave the compound for once. “I never realized how busy it is in Kyoto,” she said in awe at all the people and vendors lining the streets, “Saitou-san, how do you not get lost on your rounds?”

“…you get used to it if you have to walk around here every day,” he replied. “I suppose so,” she said realizing that by doing the same rounds daily it was easy for them to learn their way around. “I’m certain that if you get to leave more often you will learn the routes through Kyoto as well.”

Ryunosuke looked at him thoughtfully, “You’re pretty talkative today, Saitou. Are you happy about something?” The violet-haired swordsman just shook his head but Ryunosuke could hear him mumble to himself, “Going shopping means walking past that shop, perhaps I can find a good sword I can afford.”

Hitomi’s head darted left and right, looking at all the different items available for sale in the market. Jewelry, hairpieces, flowers...there was just so much to take in. Then something caught her eye, and Hitomi stopped to look in the window of one shop. “Wow, so beautiful.” Inside she saw an elaborate kimono with yellow, orange, and red mixed together with a hand painted floral pattern. She stared at it for a moment wondering what it would be like to wear something so extravagant. She felt someone behind her and turned around embarrassed, “I’m Sorry Saitou-san, Ibuki-kun…I didn’t mean to get distracted.”

Saitou shook his head, “It’s fine. But we should hurry a little since there’s a shop I want to look at as well before we return.” First they went to the shop where Ryunosuke always bought sake for Serizawa, and then, they walked around at the market, waiting patiently for Hitomi to finish. “Ah, Saitou,” Ryunosuke said, “what do you think about what happened yesterday? With those men, I mean.”

“We are in public so it is not appropriate to discuss it Ryunosuke,” he corrected, “However I will say that whatever Hijikata-san and Kodou-san decide I will stand by them.” Saitou was extremely loyal to both of them, and would always be by their side to ensure their success.

Hitomi gathered the necessary vegetables, then went to pick up the meat. She had heard from Harada that it had been a while since they had a proper meal, so she was planning on preparing them all a delicious dinner. Once she gathered all the ingredients her basket was full and she was all finished. “Oof,” Hitomi said letting out a tiny laugh from the weight of the basket, “I hope you’ll all be hungry this evening!”

They started walking back through the market, and Saitou seemed preoccupied as he led them down a different street than before. She was surprised when he stopped in front of what seemed more like a hut than a store, but then she heard the sound of pounding metal echoing in the street.

“Suzume-san, Please forgive me I must stop here for a moment,” Saitou said while bowing. Hitomi took off the basket of food and set it down, and leaned against a crate, “It’s fine Saitou-san, I could use a break anyway since we’ve been walking for quite a while.”

“Arigatou Suzume-san,” he said while turning towards the shop, “Ryunosuke, please watch over her and call me if anything happens.” He disappeared inside and Hitomi smiled asking, ”Ibuki-kun, Is this the sword place you told me about the other day?”

“You mean the place he visited before almost killing me with his chopsticks? Yeah, it’s here. I hope he’ll find a sword he can afford, otherwise you might become a moving target for his chopsticks too. Although Harada probably would get you out of the room and leave me alone with him again…” Ryunosuke scratched the back of his head.

Hitomi let out a small laugh and said, “I don’t think Saitou-san would actually hurt you though, He’s the exact opposite of Serizawa-sama.” At least from what she experienced. She traveled with him, Okita, and Sannan back from Osaka. He seemed to be a man of few words, but he was kind at heart. She smiled and put her hand on Ryunosuke’s shoulder and finished, “Though I hope he does find what he’s looking for in there.”  
  
“If you say so. I’ll trust you on this,” Ryunosuke said, the corners of his lips lifting up a little. He looked up and down the street. “Let’s hope that he does, and that he won’t spend too much time in there.”

“Is something wrong Ibuki-kun? You keep looking around nervously,” she asked, “I don’t see anyone nearby.” Hitomi tilted her head and asked, “Should I go check on Saitou-san?”

“No, it’s fine… I just have a feeling that Serizawa-san will be angry for whatever reason.”

“Well, If that’s the case then maybe I can nudge Saitou-san,” Hitomi said, “Leave it to me Ibuki-kun!!!” She grinned before running inside, “Please watch the food for me!”

She stepped inside to see Saitou holding a blade and testing it. “Saitou-san, have you found what you were looking for,” she asked while slowly walking up to him. Saitou moved the blade in his usual quick draw style, which was always impressive. He turned to look at her and nodded his head acknowledging that he had picked his blade.

Hitomi looked at the Katana in his hand and said, “I don’t know much about swords, but the way you hold it and the style of hilt seems to suit you.” She smiled and said, “With a fine Katana such as that you’ll surely be able to protect the citizens of Kyoto!”

Saitou shyly turned away and placed the sword back in it’s scabbard and on the rack. “Arigatou, Suzume-san,” he said, “We should be going.” She shook her head and said, “but wait, I thought you were going to buy it?” Saitou said nothing and just pointed to the price, and she realized he must not have had enough money to purchase it. Hitomi frowned and dipped her head, “Oh, I understand Saitou-san.”

As they turned to walk out of the shop the older blacksmith spoke up, “It is a fine sword indeed.” They both turned back to face him as he smirked, “since that little lady of yours has good taste, how about I sell it to you for what money you have plus your current katana?” Saitou’s eyes grew wide like an excited child. “In return you will need to do as she says and protect Kyoto. Deal?”

Saitou’s face quickly grew serious again as he nodded, then handed over his sword and money purse to. The older shopkeeper put the new Katana in his hands and said, “Take good care of that blade, may it never become clouded.” Saitou slid the new sword into his obi and bowed to the shop owner, and so did Hitomi before they left.

Ryunosuke picked up the basket with the food they had bought and walked towards them as they exited the shop. “Ah Saitou, you bought a new sword?” Saitou nodded quietly. “Suzume-san was able to convince the seller to give it to me for what I have and in exchange for my old sword.” He lowered his head in front of her, “Arigatou.”

“You’re welcome Saitou-san, but all I did was say the sword suited you,” Hitomi said with a smile, “But I’m glad that he bargained with you, every true samurai deserves the perfect Katana!” While they were walking back to their headquarters, Ryunosuke leaned in to Hitomi and whispered, “I have to thank you too. You probably saved me, maybe you saved yourself too from his chopstick rage.”

Hitomi continued to smile as Ryunosuke whispered to her while carrying the basket of food along with Serizawa’s sake cask. “It’s fine, no thanks needed Ibuki-kun,” she whispered back, “After all that’s what friends do, they look out for each other.”

They arrived back at headquarters and Hitomi thanked Saitou one more time before they headed towards the kitchen. “Thanks for carrying the food Ibuki-kun, I shouldn’t have bought so much,” she laughed, “I suppose now all I need to worry about is making dinner and keeping Heisuke out of the kitchen.” She turned to Ryunosuke and said, “Whenever I make dinner Heisuke always tries to sneak in and steal a taste, I swear he’s like a ninja.”  
  
“I always thought Yamazaki was the ninja, not Heisuke…but I guess he’s like this when it’s about food, huh? Let’s see if I can keep him out. You did me a favor, so do you one too.” Ryunosuke sat down in front of the door of the kitchen as Hitomi went to work on dinner, cutting up the vegetables and marinating the beef. She started humming to herself, and that’s when she caught someone creeping up towards the window. “HEISUKE-KUN,” she said while waving a wooden spoon at him, “I thought I told you to stay out of the kitchen, you’ll ruin the surprise!”  
  
Ryunosuke walked over to the window, trying to think of how to get Heisuke away from there. “Heisuke, come to the yard with me. I want to spar a little to improve my skills so Saitou doesn’t complain tomorrow. It’s so annoying when he does.” Heisuke pouted, but nodded slowly, “I haven’t done anything like that today yet, so just this one time.” Ryunosuke nodded towards Hitomi and grinned a little before leaving the kitchen to meet Heisuke outside.

Hitomi giggled as Ryunosuke got Heisuke away from the kitchen. He willingly wanted to spar with him? Now if that wasn’t a surprise she wasn’t sure what was! She took the opportunity to get back to work, humming again as she cut the vegetables.

Heisuke tossed a wood sword to Ryunosuke and said, “I have no idea why the hell you suddenly want to spar, but I don’t think it has to do with Saitou.” He quickly got into his stance and started to shift the edge of his blade back and forth to trick him. It only took a single strike to disarm him and send the practice sword flying.

“I think I know why,” he said getting back into his stance, “It’s about the other night, huh?” Heisuke grinned, “It’s because you got your ass kicked huh? You don’t wanna get shown up by us again!” He attacked Ryunosuke, once again disarming him, “You’re gonna have to do better than that if you want to rescue Hitomi next time.” He teased once more with a grin, “that is, unless you don’t mind Sano always stealing the glory.”

“I-it’s not what you think it is!” Ryunosuke protested. He clenched his fists around the wooden sword, holding it tight and then jumping forward to attack Heisuke, planning on not losing that fast this round. He actually managed to hold onto his sword and block one of Heisuke’s powerful strikes, although it probably had been more luck than an ability to fight.

Ryunosuke continued, “really, the only relationship between Hitomi and myself is that we’re both being ordered around by Serizawa-san so we look out for each other. There’s nothing more! Besides everyone already knows what my feelings for Kosuzu are.”

Heisuke grinned and said, “It’s a good thing finding something you want to protect ya know. It helps you to train harder, and fight stronger.” He increased his attacks, throwing in a kick this time to send Ryunosuke to the ground. He readied his practice sword again saying, “though before you can protect someone else you need to be able to protect yourself, it's not like we can be there to save your ass all the time!”

“Heisuke, Ryunosuke,” called Nagakura while he and Harada walked back from their rounds, “What are you both doing out here?” Harada smirked and said, “Are you finally taking your training seriously?”

When he heard Harada and Nagakura’s voices, Ryunosuke slipped on the grass and fell to the ground, his sword hitting his head, making him cry out in pain. “I’m taking it seriously enough. You can’t expect me to become some good fighter like you all are overnight.”

Harada smirked, “The best way to learn how to fight is by fighting Ryunosuke, so feel free to come to any of us if you ever need someone to practice with.”

“I won’t. I don’t need you to get any better.”

“Ah, So that’s why you’re fighting Heisuke,” Harada teased, “we knew he’s already peaked and won’t get any stronger.”

Heisuke turned around and yelled, “Dammit that’s not nice Sano! Remember I can take you on anytime!” Nagakura started laughing, “Calm down Heisuke, you get hot-headed way too quickly.” Heisuke started to mumble under his breath then said, “I’m board, you’re not a challenge to me anyway Ryunosuke.” Nagakura sniffed at the air, “Hey….something smells good.” Harada did the same and said, “It does, hey didn’t Hitomi say she was making dinner tonight?” Heisuke tossed his sword aside and said, “Oh yeah, I went to check on her in the kitchen then that’s when Ryunosuke asked me...”

“...HEY, Did you only ask me to practice with you to get me away from Hitomi?” Heisuke yelled, “You do want to keep her all to yourself!” Nagakura looked around and said, “Wait, did I miss something?” Harada teased, “Oh, so you like Hitomi as well as that little Maiko? You selfish dog, you can’t have them both ya know!”  
  
“It’s not like that, I promised her something that’s all,” Ryunosuke defended himself and Harada patted his head with a proud smile, “Well done, Ryunosuke. If you promise a lady something, you have to keep that promise, you know.”

“I told you it’s not like that, I only promised her to keep Heisuke away from the food” he protested and freed himself from the hand, “and stop messing around with my hair!”

A loud cough erupted from behind them all. “Dinner is ready, so please report to the main hall,” Saitou said while looking at the boisterous group. “Oh man I am so hungry,” Heisuke said getting excited and forgetting about everything else, “I’ve been waiting for this all day! I wonder what she made...IS THAT BEEF I SMELL?” Heisuke turned around and started running towards the main hall, leaving everyone else behind. Harada laughed and patted Nagakura on the shoulder, “We better go before Heisuke eats everything.”  
  
Inside the main hall everyone assembled except for Serizawa, Niimi, and Kodou. At each spot Hitomi placed a tray overflowing with food. Several pieces of vegetable Tempura, Miso, and a large bowl of Donburi filled with rice, stewed beef, vegetables, and even an egg. It truly was a feast. Even Hijikata looked impressed. “Please everyone go ahead and enjoy your meal, Serizawa-sama said that he and the other will not be joining you tonight,” Hitomi said with a bow.

“SUGOI,” Heisuke exclaimed while stuffing his face, “mmm, beef, oh Hitomi this is so good!” Hijikata stared at his side of takuwan and said, “I haven’t had this in forever.” Saitou looked down at his miso and quietly said, “she gave me extra tofu.” Okita smirked, “…and remembered that I hate onions.” Nagakura grinned wildly and said, “This is so filling, I don’t even need to take Heisuke’s food tonight!” Harada gave her a wink and said, “This is delicious, you’ll make a fine wife someday Hitomi-chan.”  When Ryunosuke started eating, he found some extra beef in his bowl and looked up to smile at Hitomi. “Thanks! It’s really tasty!”

Hitomi smiled brightly, and she felt slightly embarrassed from all the praise. “Arigatou min'na.” A warm feeling filled her heart as she watched everyone eat and look so happy, at that moment Hitomi knew her hard work was worth it.

“Ne, Hitomi can I have seconds,” Heisuke grinned. Shinpachi smacked him on the head and said, “Oh no, He doesn’t need seconds, he’s just being greedy.” Hitomi laughed and said, “I wish I could, but I still need to go give Serizawa-sama and his guests theirs. You can stop by the kitchen later though to check - providing you boys don’t fight over it.” Okita teased, “Did you hear that Shinpachi, Heisuke? No sword-fighting in the kitchen like last time.”

“I’m glad you’re all enjoying dinner, now if you’ll excuse me I need to go to Serizawa-sama,” She gave them all a slight bow then left for the kitchen. She gathered their dinners and took it over to Serizawa’s private meeting room being sure to arrive at his specified time, and knocked on the door. “Serizawa-sama, may I bring in your dinners?” The door opened and she bowed before walking in with the three trays.  
  
She served his guest who was the bald doctor first, then Niimi, and finally Serizawa. She bowed slightly and waited a moment before asking, “May I bring you anything else?” Both the doctor and Niimi shook their heads. “What is this,” Serizawa said pointing inside his bowl. “Donburi, Serizawa-sama.” He grabbed his fan and growled, “No, inside the bowl. What is this overcooked beef doing in there?”  
  
Hitomi’s heart rate began to increase as she quietly answered, “well, traditionally it’s stewed sir…” She felt the iron fan strike her face, and a small trickle of blood run down her cheek. “I like my beef medium rare wench, I don’t care what you peasants deem as traditional,” He growled while roughly grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards him. Her knees burned as she fell on the tatami, and her wrist screamed out in pain as he held onto it. “Now you will make me another, and after you’ll receive your punishment for offending me for the third time this week. Now hurry up wench.”  
  
He let go, throwing her aside like she was a rag doll. She bowed her head deeply and left with his tray, returning to the kitchen with tears in her eyes. Punishment? Oh she couldn’t even imagine what he had in store for her. She quickly went back to work to prepare a new bowl for him with the remaining beef, trying to hold herself together.

Ryunosuke collected everyone’s trays when they were finished and took them to the kitchen when he heard quiet sobs. He hurried inside to see Hitomi crying while cooking, and saw a cut on her cheek. “Hitomi, what’s wrong?” Ryunosuke asked while putting down the trays. “You were with Serizawa-san weren’t you? Was he angry at you?”

Hitomi nodded and wiped her eyes, “He wasn’t pleased with dinner, the meat wasn’t rare enough for him.” She frowned, “I don’t know why he was so angry, but he seemed irritated before I even went into the room.” She finished cooking his meal and quickly prepared the tray, ensuring that everything is set correctly. “I should go now, I don’t want to anger him more and make my punishment worse.”

Ryunosuke started to stretch out his hand as if to stop her, but then let it fall down. He realized that it wouldn’t do any good if he made Serizawa be angry at him too because then they’d just both be punished. “…good luck, then. I hope he won’t punish you too bad.” Words of encouragement probably was the only thing he could do for her.

Hitomi nodded to Ryunosuke and said, “Thanks. would you mind starting to clean up in here till I return? That would be a great help.” She forced a smile on her face and walked out of the kitchen, carrying the food back to his room.

She stepped inside and bowed before him stating, “Serizawa-sama, You’re dinner.” He grabbed the bowl out of her hands and said, “So you finally brought it wench.” Serizawa sat there eating, while Niimi said with a devious grin, “Serizawa, would you like me to take care of her for you while you eat?” He nodded and said, “That’s fine, I’d prefer not to see her worthless face for the rest of the night.”  
  
Niimi dragged Hitomi down to the old storehouse and threw her inside forcefully before closing the door. “Now Wench, I won’t be as cruel to you as Serizawa would be,” he said with an eerie smile while staring at her, "but I do still need to punish you properly." He ran his hand along her jaw, and act that made her skin crawl. He took a step back and she watched him raise his hand to strike her, causing her to quickly close her eyes. She felt the hard smack across her face on the side Serizawa had hit her earlier, causing her to bite down on her lip. The next thing she knew the force caused her to her head hit a stack of crates beside her, then she fell to the floor with a thud. Everything hurt as her eyes grew heavy and then suddenly went black.  
  
Niimi grinned and kicked her once to see if she was still awake. Since she was out cold he leaned down and pulled out a knife, making a long, deep cut on one of her arms before collecting several vials of her blood. He then dropped a few pots on the floor near her body to make it look like her injuries were caused by a fall.

Niimi grinned while leaving her behind to return back to Serizawa, perhaps if she was still out when he was finished he could play with the bird a little more. When he entered the room he tossed the vials to the doctor, then sat back down, “Seems the wench was useful after all. Don’t worry she’s out cold, so she won’t know about her blood being taken.” He grinned as Serizawa said, “I don’t care how you did it, just as long as it’s done. Will that be sufficient Kodou?” The doctor nodded and said, “Yes, for now. We’ll see how they react once they actually taste blood.”

* * *

Heisuke, Harada, and Nagakura all headed into the kitchen. “Ne Hitomi, so where are those leftovers…” Heisuke said while looking around the kitchen and only seeing Ryunosuke, “She said to come find her, where did she go?” Harada raised an eyebrow asking, “…what’s happened? You look like something’s wrong Ryunosuke.”

“…” Ryunosuke hesitated and then forced himself to say, “I’m worried about her.” He didn’t want to admit it in front of those three, but he had to. “She went to bring Serizawa-san and his guests their food, but he got angry about his meal and sent her back to make it again. Hitomi was upset and said he was going to punish her.” He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, “I’d have gone with her, but if I did Serizawa would have gotten angry at me too, then he’d punish both of us.”

Heisuke’s eyes grew wide as he repeated, “Punishment? Oh no, that's not good at all!” Harada growled and hit Ryunosuke on the back of the head. “BAKA! You sent that girl off to face that alone? You're an idiot and a coward!”  
  
Ryunosuke tensed up and said defensively, “I am not a coward, I just didn’t want to make things worse!”

"By sending her alone you made things worse for Hitomi," Harada’s eyes narrowed as he continued, “What if she needs help? Hell maybe you could have taken the brunt of it for her!” He had never been so mad at Ryunosuke before, and he showed it by holding the boy by the collar of his shirt. “It’s a man’s job to protect a women, and you call yourself her friend,” he lectured, “Haven’t you learned anything at all from me?” Ryunosuke stood there unable to say a word, realizing that the captain was right and he made a huge mistake.

“Sano calm down,” Nagakura said trying to hold him back, “Let’s just go find where she’s at and make sure that she’s ok.”  Harada put his hands down and let go, but clenched his fists. “Heisuke, you stay here with Ryunosuke in case she shows up here first,” Nagakura said in a hushed tone, “I’ll get him outta here.” The pair left quickly, closing the door behind them.

“Ryunosuke, don’t worry Sano would pummel Serizawa before he’d pummel you,” Heisuke said trying to ease the blue-haired boy’s mind, “You know how he gets around women.” He smiled and said, “As soon as he see’s that she’s ok he’ll calm down. It’s not like Serizawa would do anything to really hurt her. I mean she is a girl after all.”

Ryunosuke bit down on his lower lip hard, “How do you know that? Maybe he does, and it’s my fault. Maybe Harada is right. Maybe I do deserve a beat down.” He leaned back and let out a frustrated cry. “I’m so useless,” he admitted. Heisuke sighed, “Maybe you could at least do something useful now… did she ask you to do anything for her?”

“Oh Right!” Ryunosuke called out, “She asked me to clean up here…”

“OK, then do that. Since Hitomi asked then I guess I’ll help you just this one time...”

* * *

Harada and Nagakura searched around Serizawa’s room and eventually came upon an old storeroom where the door was slightly cracked open. Inside they found Hitomi unconscious on the floor around a pile of broken pots. Harada rushed inside and pulled the tiny young woman into his arms, “Hitomi? Hitomi, Wake up.” He brushed her hair away from her face, noticing the cuts on her lower lip and cheek. However there were also a deep cut on her arm as well. Harada looked around the storeroom and something was off, he had the distinct feeling that whatever really happened here was covered up.  After waiting for a few minutes and Hitomi’s condition remained unchanged, Harada calmly turned to his friend. “Shin, Please go get some bandages, a cloth, and some cool water,” he asked, "I'll stay here and keep an eye on her."  
  
Nagakura nodded then ran back to the kitchen and said, “Hey Ryunosuke I need some cold water, can you bring some to the old storeroom near Serizawa’s quarters?” Heisuke and Ryunosuke looked at each other briefly before Ryunosuke quickly filled a bowl with water and they hurried over towards Serizawa’s quarters. As soon as Ryunosuke saw Hitomi laying in Harada’s arms, he ran over to her and yelled “Hitomi!”

“Shhh, we don't want to get anyone else's attention,” Harada said in a hushed tone while placing the cool cloth on her forehead, “Don't worry, she should wake up soon.” Heisuke leaned in over Ryunosuke’s shoulder and quietly asked, “What Happened?” Nagakura shrugged and said, “Not sure, she was unconscious when we found her here.” Harada softly wiped the blood from her cheek and lip before doing the same for her left arm.

After a few minutes she slowly opened her eyes and said, “Harada-san? Why are you...Huh, where am I?” He smiled at her and said, “Hey, Don’t move too much, it seems like you took a hard fall. Do you remember what happened?” Hitomi nodded, “I took Serizawa-sama his food, then Niimi-san brought me here. I remember being struck once, and then I think my head hit something? But that’s it.”

“How did you get that cut on your arm,” Harada asked. Hitomi looked down and said, “I don’t know, maybe when I fell?” Nagakura nodded and said, “There are a few broken pots in here, that’s probably how it happened.” Harada nodded slowly, but didn’t seem too convinced. “Let’s get you all fixed up,” Harada said, “Ryunosuke, why don’t you bandage her arm, you should be able to handle that right?”

“Hey, of course I can, I’m not totally useless you know,” Ryunosuke protested while carefully wrapping the bandages around Hitomi’s injured arm. “Does that hurt? I mean, that cut looks really painful...At least he used water to clean it.”

“I wouldn’t want her to have to feel the pain of alcohol on a cut,” Harada replied, “that’s something I couldn’t do to a woman.”

“But you can do it to me?”

“You’re a man, you should be able to handle it.”

“That’s fine Ibuki-kun, it really doesn’t hurt that much,” she said as he finished wrapping her arm, “Arigatou.” After he finished she looked down and said, “Um, please don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you all here?” Heisuke, Harada, Nagakura, and Ryunosuke were all there standing over her which was completely unexpected.

“Because we were all worried when you didn’t come back to the kitchen,” Heisuke said. Nagakura nodded, “yeah, and we were right to be worried too!” Harada smiled down at her, “It’s our job to look after a pretty young woman such as yourself.” Hitomi blushed and said, “Sorry to worry you all, thanks everyone.”

“I should probably get back, I’m sure Serizawa-sama needs his sake still, and I have to clean the kitchen…” Harada stood up with her still in his arms and shook his head, “You are going back to your room Hitomi. You were out cold for a while and ended up injured, you should be sleeping not cleaning.” Heisuke nodded in agreement and said, “Ryunosuke and I already got the kitchen cleaned, so that’s done.” Nagakura smiled, “yup, and someone else can get Serizawa his sake, Hell I can even handle that.”

“But…”

“I won’t take no for an answer,” Harada smiled, “You need to rest Hitomi. I’ll carry you back to your room.” Heisuke mumbled, “….of course he will.” Hitomi turned bright red, “Harada-san I can walk you know…” He shook his head and said, “It’s no trouble at all, this is what men are supposed to do; Ryunosuke are you taking notes?” Nagakura let out a small laugh and smacked Ryunosuke on his shoulder, “Come on, let’s follow them.”

Hitomi’s feelings of embarrassment were replaced by warmth as he carried her back. She kept her eyes looking down at her hands in order to prevent herself from blushing more. When they arrived at her room ,Harada set her down outside the door. She smiled brightly and said, “Thank you everyone for all your help, I am really grateful to you all.”  Heisuke smiled and said, “you take care of us all the time Hitomi, it’s only fair we do the same for you. Now go get some sleep!” Harada grinned, “Need me to tuck you into bed?” Hitomi’s face went bright red as she replied, “Uh, no I should be fine, but thanks. Goodnight everyone!”  
  
Once they were a few steps away from her room Harada’s face suddenly turned serious again. “We all need to watch her, those pots being broken in the shed was staged,” he explained, “The mark on her arm was from a sharpened knife, not from broken ceramic.” Nagakura nodded, “I don’t know what Niimi was up to, but it can’t be anything good.” Heisuke frowned and said, “Even if he's one of our commanders I’ll never forgive him for hurting Hitomi like that.” Harada knocked him on the head and said, “Shhhh, don’t be so loud. You don’t want to scare her do you?”

“We should take turns keeping an eye on her for a while, just don’t be too obvious about it ok” Harada said while turning, “Oh and when I say everyone, I mean you too Ryunosuke. You have a better chance of going unnoticed since you two both work for Serizawa.” Nagakura nodded and continued, “Yeah, but make sure to tell us if something is wrong…don’t be stupid and try to deal with it yourself. Niimi's not one to mess around with, got it?”  
  
“Yeah, Yeah I get it,” Ryunosuke said in an annoyed tone before sulking back to his room. The words that Harada said earlier rang in his mind, and he realized that what he said was true. He let Hitomi down and sent her into the wolves den; what a friend he was. With the way Ryunosuke felt right now he wondered if Hitomi would be better off being around those three instead of himself.


	4. Wildest Dreams

Hitomi woke up early to begin her chores even though both her head and arm ached from the night before. It was a cloudy, gloomy day outside much like her mood. The memory of what happened the night before hung in her mind, and she couldn’t shake the thought of Niimi’s eyes. After completing her morning tasks she headed to the kitchen to work on lunch, focussing on making the stacks of onigiri requested of her. She was moving slower than usual, but she knew she’d have enough time to get everything done if she kept this pace.

Just as she was finishing up the food Hitomi felt a hand on her shoulder. “How are you feeling this morning?” She recognized the voice immediately and backed away from the presence behind her. “I’m fine Niimi-san,” she said in a quiet voice. “Heh, Are you scared of me now little bird?” He let out a slight laugh and said, “There is no reason to be, I was only following Serizawa’s orders last night. Oh, what happened to your arm?” Hitomi looked down at her bandages, then back at him. “The last thing I remember was falling, and when the others found me there were broken pots on the ground. I suppose that’s how it happened.” He frowned and said, “I’m very sorry, it seems I went too hard on you. Serizawa expected me to be crueler to you, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

She stared at him, unable to believe a word he was saying. Hitomi remembered the odd look in his eyes before she closed her own; he enjoyed what he did to her. “I know how I can make it up to you; I will talk to Serizawa and ask if he can make you my servant instead of his,” He said in a sly tone while moving in closer to her, “Then I could look after you, after all I wouldn’t mind having a pretty little wench like you at my side.” She slowly stepped back as she replied nervously, “Thank you, but I need to work off the debt my family owes Serizawa-sama before I can return home.” His face turned from calm to angry, “and what makes you think you can turn me down? Let alone go back to Osaka?” He reached out and gripped her injured arm, sharply pulling her towards his body. “You are just an indebted servant, it’s not like you have any rights.”

She struggled to release her arm, but he only gripped it tighter. Hitomi’s wound reopened from all the pressure he was applying, and she started to bleed through her bandages. “Please Niimi-san let me go.” He growled, “Again with the demands? Did you not hear me wench? I will let go only if I desire it because you are our property.”

Hitomi shook her head and said, “I'm a servant, but I don't belong to you or anyone else!” He then smacked her across the face with such force that she fell to her knees. “How dare you raise your voice to one of your superiors,” he snarled, “You need to understand your place. We could choose to kill you, or your family at any moment we desire.” She lowered her head apologetically but said nothing knowing full well she had already angered the commander enough. “I’m going back to Serizawa, I suggest you remember what will happen if we feel you aren't meeting our expectations, you _worthless_ wench.”

She didn’t raise her head up until she heard the door close and the room remain silent. Hitomi stood up slowly, dusting the dirt off the bottom of her yukata. He was becoming eerily cruel, but she hated to admit that he was right. She was just Serizawa’s servant and didn’t have any rights. It was a cruel fate that was chosen for her, but she had to keep hoping that someday she could be dismissed and return to what was left of her family.

Once she was finished Hitomi lowered the sleeves on her yutaka to hide that her wound had reopened. She then lifted up the heavy tray of food and carried it over to the Dojo where all the captains were holding practice. She had heard they made Ryunosuke go with them to observe, but knowing them he probably got dragged into the practice as well in some way. Hitomi removed her sandals before taking the steps up to the Dojo, and bowed her head before quietly sliding open the door. She gazed at the group of men that were sparring with each other intensely. They didn’t seem to notice her presence, but she sure noticed that they were shirtless. Embarrassed at herself for starring Hitomi attempted to look away, but when her eyes locked on Harada she became entranced with watching him. The way he moved the giant practice rod was so fluid, yet it’s strikes were brutal against Nagakura. His athletic body was dripping with sweat, and his long crimson hair clung to his face and back. Her jaw started to drop a bit in awe as he raised the intensity of his attacks, and her cheeks turned a shade of red. Why, Why did he have to be so…Attractive? And flirty? And, so Muscular? A smile formed on her lips as she remembered how he had carried her the night night before. Imagining the feel of his warm, strong arms made her let out a dreamy sigh.

“Oh Suzume-san, you’re here with lunch,” Kondou said waking her from her daydream. She quickly lowered her head, hoping nobody had noticed her staring. “Gomenasai, I hope that I didn’t interrupt your practice,” Hitomi said apologetically. “No, No, we are running behind - so no need to apologize,” he said while waving her to come in, “Men, let’s stop for the day.” The men in the room all nodded in response and began to put away their practice weapons. It didn’t take long for the captains to come over for their lunch. Heisuke was the first in line of course, but Harada and Nagakura were the stragglers of the group.

Sano made a last strike against Shinpachi before lowering his practice spear and clapping his best friend’s back, “Otsukare, Shin.” His best friend then did the same as he replied, “You too, Sano.” This was the little rite they did after every sparring, and he wouldn’t let anyone interrupt that. After they waited for the line to die down before walking over to the entrance of the hall where she stood.  “Mornin’ Hitomi, how are you doing; feeling OK?” Sano asked while taking one of the rice balls in his hand.

She smiled as Harada greeted her and Nagakura took his onigiri and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. “I feel ok this morning,” Hitomi replied, “my head is still a bit fuzzy, but you were right and the rest did help Harada-san.”

“Good to hear,” Sano said after taking a bite of the food. He looked at her and noticed something out of place; her sleeves were not tied up. “How can you stand to be in here with your sleeves down, Isn’t that hella hot?”

“Oh I’m fine,” Hitomi answered quickly trying to not seem nervous, “I’m not moving around like you guys were, so it doesn’t seem that hot to me.” Sano raised his eyebrow. “Mh, if you say so.” She smiled brightly to show that everything was ok then changed the subject. “You all seemed to be having an intense practice, it was very... _impressive_.” Impressive was the only word she could use to describe it as she continued to resist the urge to stare at his muscular, sweaty body in front of her. 

Nagakura grinned as he struck a pose, “Well you don’t get a body like this by sitting around all the time Hitomi. I spar constantly so that I’m in top shape!” Heisuke appeared, quickly smacking Nagakura on the shoulder, “stop showing off Shinpachi, nobody cares about your muscles ‘cept you!” Hitomi was thankful for his interruption, but she could still feel Harada’s eyes on her. Was he suspicious, or was it something else? “Oi Hitomi, you agree right? I have the best body out of the entire unit,” Nagakura said loudly while stepping in front of her and flexing once again. Her eyes grew wide and her face turned fifty shades of red as she stuttered, “Um…Nagakura-san…I…I don’t think that’s a question I should even know the answer to!” Of course she knew what her answer would be, she just didn’t want to say it out loud.

Hearing his best friend talk about how wonderfully strong he was caused a smirk to spread across his lips. “Don’t get all arrogant Shin; sparring daily isn’t unusual for men doing our kind of work.” Shinpachi's eyes narrowed as he replied, “I know! And I’m not arrogant! You sure you’re not the one who’s jealous of me?”

“There’s no need for me to be jealous. And now I want to eat, so let’s talk about something else.”

"Right, Right," Shinpachi shoved his second rice ball into his mouth then said with a muffled voice, “mmm…’tomi-chan…this is so good…you have more right?”

Serizawa had ordered Hitomi to be stingy with portions until further notice, so because of this she only brought two Onigiri for each of the unit members. "I'm sorry," Hitomi smiled softly and said, “I only have two left and they belong to Ibuki-Kun.”   
  
”Speaking of, do you know where he is Harada-san, Nagakura-san? I thought he was supposed to be watching you spar today,” Hitomi continued remembering that she didn’t see him when she walked into the Dojo initially. “I hope he didn’t get hurt or into trouble again.”

“Hm,” Sano tapped his chin thoughtfully. “A good question, Hitomi. I don’t think I’ve seen Ryunosuke at all yet, how about you guys?”  
Heisuke walked a little closer, shaking his head. “No~ I haven’t seen him either. But he’s not the type of person to just disappear without telling anyone. He might run from his duties, but he’s never just left without telling anyone.”

“That’s so strange,” she said with a frown. He had seemed a bit sad about something, and she wondered if this had to do with his disappearance. “Now I’m worried about Ibuki-kun.”

“Well since he’s not around,” Shinpachi said with a grin while reaching over to the tray and picking up one of the Onigiri, “Can’t let this….”

“No!” Hitomi scolded, “It’s not nice to steal another person’s lunch!” She quickly stepped back and lowered her eyes realizing she just yelled at a captain, “I’m sorry Nagakura-san…I didn’t mean to yell. Forgive me.” Serizawa had made him skip breakfast after he made another mistake, so he was likely starving by now knowing Ryunosuke. “I should go and look for him.”

Shinpachi sighed disappointedly, “No, it’s fine Hitomi, I’m just worried about the food and–”

Sano immediately let his fist hit his best friend’s head. “Shinpachi!”

“Hey, I was about to add, ’ _–and Ryunosuke_!’” the older man protested, "I swear!"

Sano shook his head at his friend, who much like Heisuke often throught with his stomach first rather than his brain. “Since our training is over I can come with you to look for him Hitomi. Four eyes are better than two, and we’ll find him quicker.”

“Oh thank you Harada-san,” she said eagerly accepting his help, “I’ll see the rest of you at dinner tonight.” She bowed her head slowly to Heisuke and Nagakura, then turned with the remaining onigiri to leave. Once she left the dojo and stepped back onto the path she slid back into her sandals. It was just her and Harada, and she couldn’t quite help herself from feeling a bit nervous. She had to ignore the butterflies in her stomach that she had every single time she was around him.  _Don’t you let him distract you Hitom_ i, she thought, _you have to find Ryunosuke_. 

“Now if I were hiding I’d probably do so where there would be the least amount of people,” she said thinking aloud, “He wouldn’t be near Serizawa, so maybe we should look towards the bath house?”

Sanosuke could sense that Hitomi was nervous, she must have been quite worried about the blue-haired punk. He had to admit though that he was feeling the same. “I don’t want to worry you, but maybe he’s not at this place voluntarily. How about you go and look for him at the bath house, and I go over to Serizawa’s compound to see if anyone there has seen him?” he suggested.

Hitomi nodded her head as he spoke and looked down at her arm; last night she wasn’t with Niimi voluntarily. She couldn’t help but be a little worried now, but hopefully he was just hiding somewhere. Hitomi glanced back up and said, “OK, I’ll head over there first, whether I find him or not let’s plan to meet back at the kitchen after.”

Sano nodded slightly, then patted her shoulder in support before hurrying over to Serizawa’s quarters. He knocked at the door before kneeling down unwillingly. “Serizawa-san, may I enter?”  
  
“Harada,” Serizawa replied coldly. “What do you want?”  
  
“…I’d like to ask if you’ve seen Ryunosuke today. We haven’t seen him yet.”  
  
“Ah, that dog is doing some work for Niimi right now. You can’t see him.”  
  
“It’s important. I need to talk to him,” He asked the commander again, "Could you at least tell me where he's at?"  
  
“Harada. I said you can't see him right now, are you trying to disobey my order?”  
  
Sano sighed heavily, his glance fixed on the ground. “…no Serizawa-san. I'll take my leave now.” He bowed once more and then stood up slowly to leave. He decided to check around a few places before returning to the kitchen. 

* * *

Hitomi let out a sigh as she waited for Harada to return. Ryunosuke wasn’t near the bath, his room, or near the kitchen. Where could he be? Was he somewhere against his will like Harada said? For him to be gone this long was not like him. She couldn’t help but grow more nervous as the afternoon went on. She carefully wrapped his onigiri up for later and put the tray aside, hoping that she would be able to give it to him soon. 

Since Harada was taking longer than she expected, Hitomi lifted her left sleeve looking over her wound. Her nose scrunched up when seeing the mess hidden underneath, and she decided it was a good time to change her bandages before anyone could notice. Hitomi carefully removed the soiled ones revealing the deep gash beneath. She cleaned the wound while trying not to wince from the pain. “I wonder if it will leave a scar,” she said quietly while her finger traced it. If it did what would others think of it? It was quite ugly the way it looked right now, especially since it had broken open thanks to Niimi. 

Ryunosuke sighed heavily, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He just hated working for Niimi, but Serizawa had ordered him to check on some of the furies. Now he was finally finished, and he decided to walk over to the kitchen to see if there was some food left for him to eat. He slid open the door and his eyes widened slightly when he heard a female voice talking quietly. He quickly entered the kitchen and walked towards her noticing her staring at the wound from the night before. He could tell that it had reopened by how bloodied the bandages were that she removed. “Hitomi,” Ryunosuke said concerned while touching her hand gently, “what happened?”

Hitomi turned to see Ryunosuke and the serious look he was giving her, making her own face grow pale as she realized she got caught. She pulled away from him quickly, covering up her injury with her other hand. “Ibuki-kun, there you are,” she said, “I was looking for you, and when you weren’t at the Dojo where you said you’d be so I was worried…and Harada-san was trying to help me find you.”

“I’m glad to see you’re OK,” she said while lowering her sleeve and standing up from the stool, “Are you hungry? That was really cruel of Serizawa-sama to make you skip breakfast.” Hitomi reached over and handed him the neatly wrapped triangles of rice, “Here…I saved these two for you. It’s not much, but it’s something.”

“Thanks,” he said, taking the food, “but you haven’t answered my question yet. Isn’t it better I ask you than Harada? He’ll definitely get more worked up and angry about it than me.” This must have been what Harada meant about keeping an eye on her, she was obviously keeping whatever happened to herself.

Hitomi’s eyes moved downward sheepishly, her plan to distract Ryunosuke from herself had failed. “Niimi came into the kitchen this morning,” she began, “he said he wanted to make me his servant instead of Serizawa’s.” She slowly lifted her sleeve back up, “When I said I wanted to just work off the debt and return home he got very angry. Niimi said I have no right to refuse him…and when I resisted further he, he grabbed my arm and the wound from last night opened back up.” 

Hitomi reached down and gripped the roll of clean bandages in her other hand. “After last night I felt pathetic; everyone was so worried about me…Especially Harada-san,” she admitted quietly, “I don’t want to be a burden. I’m  _just a servant,_ like Niimi said. I don’t deserve to have so many nice people worrying about me…like you, and Harada-san.” The red haired captain was strong and skilled; there was no way he’d want a burdensome girl like her. She thought that maybe, just maybe is she was a little bit stronger than maybe he would see her differently; see her the way that she was starting to feel about him.

She mentioned his name twice, confirming his suspicions that she really was starting to fall for Harada, and hard. He couldn't blame her based on the way he acted around her, even though he had warned her that he had a habit of flirting with all women. Ryunosuke let out a heavy sigh and put one hand on her shoulder. “Hitomi, you’re not ‘ _just a servant_.’ Even if you were, you're still allowed to have people care about you. Harada would be really disappointed if he heard you talk about yourself like this."

"And with Niimi, tell us when he scares or hurts you. Please," he said sincerely, "You don't need to go through this all on your own. Like we said last night you're always helping us, let us return the favor...and give Harada a chance to show–”

Hitomi hated to admit that he was right, she shouldn’t go through this alone. But at the same time she just didn’t want to be a burden on them, like she had been for everyone else in her life. As he brought up Harada's name her eyes widened, because at that moment he just had to walk through the door.

“To show what?” Sano opened the door and entered the kitchen. “There you are, Ryunosuke! Where were you?”

“–to show you what he thinks about you,” Ryunosuke finished in a lower volume that only Hitomi could hear. He then turned around to look up towards the redhead. “Hitomi if you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Sano for a bit.”

She nodded slowly as Ryunosuke said those final words before scurrying off to talk to Harada. _Give him a chance to show you what he thinks of you_. “What he thinks of me,” she repeated after they walked outside, "...what does that mean?"

* * *

Sano raised his eyebrows in surprise when Ryunosuke actually called him by his nickname for the first time ever. “Yeah, sure.” He followed the boy outside. “What do you want to talk about?” Ryunosuke sighed and shot a glare at hime, “Isn't it obvious?” Sano seemed confused as he replied, "What is?" Of all the people in the unit He couldn't believe that Harada wouldn't just come out and admit it. He let out a sigh and said bluntly, “You love _her_.”

“Am I really hearing this right?” Sano furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you saying Ryunosuke?”

“You know what I mean; You love Hitomi. Everyone can see it, even Heisuke mentioned it to me. The way you talk and look at her; how much you care about her safety," he pointed out. "If I'm wrong about this, then you are just being cruel to her!" Normally he wasn't so straightforward, but for once he felt like it was necessary. Hitomi was obviously falling for him, and he doubted that Harada was the type to be dense and ignore that. “You should tell her how you feel as soon as possible. Maybe then she’ll be a little more willing to let someone help her." He paused for a moment before continuing, "She keeps everything that happens when we’re not with her to herself. I know she didn’t tell you that her injury reopened, or that it was Niimi's fault.”

“What?! So that was why she had her sleeves down this morning even though it was so hot. She didn’t want us to see it. Dammit," he said as his hand clenched into a fist, "Ryunosuke, I never would have known that...thanks.”

“…you're welcome, but will you just tell her the truth soon? Because it seems that Hitomi's actually starting to believe what Niimi is spouting to her. She seems so sad. You should be there for her now, even more so than you were before.” He turned away. “Go to her.”

“Wait!” Sano called out. “Why are you talking like this now?”

“…because I care about her too and don't want to see her get hurt," he said in almost a bitter tone, "She's been through enough already, she doesn't need her heart broken too.”

Sano stared at him as he walked away, thinking about what he said. Was he in denial that he was falling in love with Hitomi? He was drawn to her sunny presence the first time they met, but now things were vastly different. He no longer saw her as just another beautiful young woman. He felt a strong desire to see her happy, and after last night he wanted to be the one to keep her safe. His heart was thumping in his chest, maybe this feeling really was love. He returned to the kitchen, sliding the door open once again. She was standing there with her shoulders dropped, looking like a soldier defeated in battle. Suddenly he started to feel an aching sensation inside as he called out, “Hitomi?"  
  
Hitomi had just finished bandaging her arm again when Harada walked inside. “Ibuki-kun told you, didn’t he? I suppose I deserved that for not telling you the truth earlier.” She kept her head faced down and her back to him as she continued to speak. “He disagreed with Niimi saying I’m just a servant, but that is what I am. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t working off my family’s debt to Serezawa-sama.” Hitomi’s eyes started to water a bit, “I have no choice but to accept whatever him or Serizawa-sama do.” Hitomi hesitated briefly, “…but _you_ , you all say the exact opposite. Which is it? Am I just a servant or am I more than that?” 

Sano immediately pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face in her hair. He could sense the sadness and confusion inside her from the way she spoke; Ryunosuke was right, she needed someone right now. “They see you as a servant Hitomi," he spoke softly, "but don't think the rest of us feel the same. _Please_ , will you listen to what I have to say?”

There was something different about the way he took ahold of her at that moment. The feelings welling up inside caught her completely off guard as he leaned his face into the back of her hair. The tone of his voice had a hint of frustration to it, but at the same time it was also kind. Her heart rate stuttered in confusion as she nodded her head slightly.  
  
“Do you know what my dream is?” he asked quietly as she shook her head. “I want to live a long, peaceful life together with the woman I love, and maybe even have a child or two. It may sound backwards, but joined the Rōshigumi to create that peaceful era. We all might be idiots beleiving we can make that happen, but we’re idiots who share the same dream.” He laughed, “though, the others probably have other goals than just living together with a woman." As he caught the scent of her skin he continued the conversation in his mind. _I think I found that woman I want to live with; the only thing I’m still waiting for is her opinion. Hitomi, would you be willing to spend your life with me? Would you accept my love?_ If only he could bring himself to say those thoughts out loud to her, but for some reason he was unable to. "Maybe what I'm trying to say is that we don't want you to think your dreams can't happen just because of the situation you're in."

“Harada-san, that’s a beautiful dream,” she said softly, wondering what it would be like to be a part of that life. Having a husband that loved her with all his heart, and a family were part of her own childhood dreams. As of late, she even dreamed that maybe the man beside her would be him. But they were just dreams, fairytales from a young girls mind. Hitomi continued in a sad tone, “…but at least for right now, I can’t afford to have those type of thoughts.” The harsh reality was that at this point in time she was like a caged sparrow, and the two wolves named Serizawa and Niimi were holding the key to her freedom. “I’m not like Ibuki-kun, or any of you,” she said, “I have no choice but to follow their orders until Serizawa-sama deems that I’ve fulfilled my obligations, or else he will kill what family I have left…and you know Serizawa-sama would do it too.” 

“I don’t want to give up on my dreams,” Hitomi said while wiping her eyes, “but right now I feel guilty about having them.” Hitomi longed for him to stay with his arms around her, which is why she couldn’t let him see how pained she was when she pulled away from him. “I want to be happy, but not at the expense of others. I just can't put myself above those I care about.”  

“I’m…I’m sorry Harada-san, forgive me.” What she really meant to say was _I’m sorry that I can’t tell you how I feel_. She wasn’t brave enough to tell him, or strong enough to deal with it if he didn’t feel the same. “I...I should probably go and check if Serizawa-sama needs anything. I don’t want to get into any more trouble today.”

Sano’s heart clenched when he heard those words; the heavy burden placed on her was more than she should ever have to bear. All he wanted to do right now was to pull her back into his arms and tell her everything would be OK. He wanted to make sure her dreams came true, and most of all he wanted to see her happy. “There’s no need to ask me for forgiveness." If anyone should be apologizing it was him, because he was just as powerless right now in getting her away from this situation.  

She clearly wasn't in a good place right now, so he didn't want to risk pushing her further away from them. He would back down for now, but he wasn’t going to give up on this woman. "Hitomi, I want you to know that, if you should ever need it, Kondou-san and the rest of us will always be willing to help you, no matter what the circumstance," he said sincerely, "So please don't think that you need to hide your troubles from us. We're here to help everyone in Kyoto, and that includes you."

He gave her a smile, "Now go and check on Serizawa-san, but be careful, okay?” Hitomi nodded and left the kitchen quietly heading towards Serizawa's quarters. Harada left shortly after her, walking back to the training hall to meet back up with his friends. 

Heisuke jumped up from as he approached and asked, "Sano! How'd it go with Hitomi?" Sano just shook his head, “Let's not talk about it. I think I need some good sake right now. Anyone wanna go drink with me?”

Shinpachi frowned and ran his hand through his hair, knowing exactly his best friends reaction meant. He took his hand and smacked it off Sano's shoulder and said with a grin, "Of course, let's head to Shimibara before Inoue catches us leaving. The tab's on me today." He knew drinking wouldn't fix Harada's problem, but if he could cheer him up for a while and help him clear his head, maybe then he'd be able to figure out a solution to whatever was eating away at him.


	5. Rising Temperatures

Hitomi hummed to herself while ringing out the laundry and hanging it to dry out on the line. Several days had passed and her scar on her arm had finally started to heal, and her mood had returned to normal. Hitomi worked hard to make sure she stayed on Serizawa’s good side so that she could avoid another situation. She didn’t want to worry her friends, nor become a bother to them. It was a warm, sunny day and the air felt stale. She already couldn’t wait for fall to arrive, all this humid summer air made working that much more exhausting. She heard a group of footsteps approaching and recognized Ryunosuke’s voice. “Ohayo Ibuki-kun,” she called out with a smile and wave.

“Oi Ryunosuke, you better answer her now or I’ll have to teach you a lesson,” Harada commented as they heard Hitomi’s greeting. “Hey, I’d ignore you, but not her,” Ryunosuke protested before waving at Hitomi, “Morning, How are you?” A grin formed on Harada’s face as he said, “Ohayo beautiful.”

“Beautiful?! Oh uh, Arigatou Harada-san,” she said feeling her cheeks flush, and not from the heat, “I’m fine Ibuki-kun, though this weather is quite uncomfortable don’t you think?”

“What are you both up to? I know Heisuke is on rounds with Nagakura-san,” she asked while hanging up the last yukata to dry, “Harada, you’re not dragging poor Ibuki-kun into trouble are you?” She took a seat on the steps to take a break in the shade, pulling her long hair up with the pin into a bun.  
  
“Yeah, it’s way too hot,” Ryunosuke agreed and sat down next to Hitomi. “We’re not really up to anything right now as far as I know.” He gave Harada a questioning look, but the older man shook his head. “Nope, we’re just here to relax a little before we’re going on patrols later. We can talk a little if you’d like.”  
  
“Sure, I’d enjoy the company; it’s been such a quiet morning.” Everyone had been hiding away inside with other work in order to avoid the unusually high temperatures, so she really hadn’t seen too many others walking around. “Well since you’re both here to relax, can I ask you about something?” Hitomi smiled, “it’s almost June, so I was wondering what the Gion Matsuri Festival is like. I heard it was huge, but I’ve never seen it.”

“Well, it really is the biggest festival in Kyoto,” Harada explained while lazily leaning back against the railing, “Besides the general shrine events there are floats, a grand parade, and vendors selling anything you could imagine.” He laughed, “There is a lot of food as well, I think there is more than enough yakitori to feed Shinpachi and Heisuke for a year.”

“Enough to feed both of them for an entire year?” Hitomi repeated in awe, “That must really be a lot of food vendors then!” She already began to imagine in her mind miles of vendors selling food, sweets, and items to the crowded festival goers. He continued, “To be honest it’s hard to describe how magnificent it is, you really need to see it in person.”

“Since you’re asking about it, does that mean you want to go,” Harada grinned at her playfully, “You know, I wouldn’t mind seeing you in one of those fancy summer kimono’s, that would be a sight to behold...Right Ryunosuke?”  
  
“Yeah, I guess so…,” Ryunosuke started to say as Harada shot him a death glare, “Um, I mean, Yes it would be.” 

“I...I was just curious that’s all. It’s not like Serizawa-sama would let me go to the festival anyway,” She looked down as her voice deflated. Even If she could go, It’s not like she would have something to wear unless she could find the time to sew something.  
  
“I want to go too, do you think you can find us a way to take us with you next month?” Hitomi was right and it was likely that Serizawa wouldn’t let them go alone, but maybe Harada could get someone to change his mind. “Huh, so you think I’m gonna go? Festivals are nice but they aren’t really my thing.” Harada asked as he turned to the boy. “Of course you are! Nagakura and Heisuke will go to eat and you’ll just go to flirt with the women there! Don’t deny it, Harada, I know you,” Ryunosuke argued.

“ _Flirt with other women_?” Hitomi thought with a frown. How could she forget about what she was warned about. Harada flirted with every woman, so of course he would go to the festival to do that. It’s not like he saw her as anything more than a friend, or at least that was what she thought. “I would like to go If I’m allowed,” she said, “but I’d probably be in the way If I went with along with you all.”  
  
“No, Hitomi you would never be in our way,” Harada said while wondering where that comment came from, along with the sad look in her eyes. In an effort to cheer her back up he said, “While I saw it last year, I really wouldn’t mind taking you both along. After all you should get to see the largest festival in Japan.”

“You seem to suddenly like this idea now, don’t you, Harada?” Ryunosuke looked at him skeptically as he suddenly changed his tune the moment Hitomi seemed sad. He still hadn't told Hitomi how he felt, so he couldn't help but be a bit snippy twoards him. “Am I not _allowed_ to like it,” Harada said while glaring at him angrily.  
  
Hitomi sensed the sudden tension between the two, so she smiled and changed the subject. “So are you going out on rounds later too Ibuki-kun, or is it just you Harada-san?” She let out a dreamy sigh. “Even though it’s dangerous, I’m still jealous that you get to walk around the city Ibuki-kun. I get so tired of being cooped up here all the time.” Since that night she hadn’t been even allowed to leave to leave the compound and Serizawa had doubled her daily chores. “If I make you a list could you maybe maybe pick up some supplies for me? I need some additional fabric and thread to repair some of the uniforms.”  
  
“I’m taking Ryunosuke with me,” Harada replied with a smile, “I can’t make any guarantees he’ll say yes, but how about I ask Serizawa if you can come on our rounds with us?”  
  
“Really, you would do that? It wouldn’t be a problem for me to go would it?” Hitomi asked with excitement in her voice. Harada chuckled and answered, “Of course I would, and you wouldn’t be any problem at all because I know you’ll follow my instructions, right?” She nodded profusely and said, “Yes!”  
  
Ryunosuke tried not to roll his eyes; while he liked to see Hitomi happy, Harada didn’t seem to be taking what he said the other day seriously. He truly hoped for her sake that he wasn't stringing her along. “So…Hitomi are you done with all your chores for the day,” Ryunosuke asked.

“Mostly, Kondou-san asked me to clean up the dojo today. I suppose I should head there next since Okita-san’s practice should be over by now,” Hitomi said with a light sigh, “You boys seriously make that place quite…dirty…and smelly.” She laughed and continued, “I swear all I do is clean up after you all.”

“Well, I guess that’s what a serious training ends with, isn’t it?” Harada smirked and patted Hitomi’s head. “You always work so hard for us, I wish the others would take notice and do the same too.” Ryunosuke mumbled, “I don’t know, you all work pretty hard at mocking me.” He then cried out in pain when Harada’s hand hit the back of his head hard. “Ouch! What are you doing that for?!” Harada smiled like a big brother, "You know _exactly_ what that was for. Anyway is there anything we can do to help you Hitomi? We still have some time to kill before rounds.”

“Well if you two don’t mind, could you help me carry a few buckets of water to the dojo? It would take me at least three trips to get enough to clean the floor in that huge room.” Hitomi stood up and stretched like a cat as she let out a small yawn when the sound of footsteps came up from behind. "Are you lazing around instead of doing your work again wench,” said Niimi while putting his hand on her shoulder and gripping her tightly, “I would _hate_ to have to report that to Serizawa-sama.”   
  
Harada watched as Niimi took ahold of Hitomi, and his blood boiled when he saw her face wince in pain. “She was working hard all morning,” Harada said tersely as he stood up, “I was the one who interrupted Hitomi’s chores and talked for a little while. If you’ve got a problem with that complain about me, not her.” Ryunosuke stood up as well, nodding his head in acknowledgement.  
  
“I didn’t realize that _you_ were here.” Niimi furrowed his eyebrows as he removed his hand from her shoulder, clearly unhappy that one of Kondou’s captains was with Hitomi. He turned around to leave and said, “Be sure that next time you ask permission from Serizawa before you interrupt _his_ servant’s work, Harada-san.”

“What a jerk,” Ryunosuke muttered quietly once Niimi had left. “He’s always there where you don’t want him to be, and threatens to tell Serizawa on you.”

“Yeah, he’s Serizawa-san’s right hand man, that’s expected. Anyways, Ryunosuke, let’s lend her a hand with the well water.” He moved his focus back to her as he asked, “Ne Hitomi, do you know how much fun cleaning the dojo can be? If not I can show you.”

Hitomi had zoned out as she watched Niimi stare at her as he left, not paying attention to what those two were talking about with each other. Maybe she was being paranoid, but it almost felt as if he wanted her to make a mistake to anger Serizawa. She wasn’t sure what his intentions were, but his behavior certainly hadn’t gone unnoticed. He was likely the reason that Ryunosuke and the trio were hanging around her even more than usual. “Sorry Harada-san,” she said shaking the thoughts from her mind. Hitomi smiled again while they walked over to the well, “I’d love for you to show me!” They filled up all the buckets quickly; Harada took two and left one for Ryunosuke to carry.

She walked with them to the empty Dojo and slid open the door. The rank smell of sweat and humid air greeted them, making Hitomi let out a slight cough, “I hope I brought enough soap.” She quickly rolled up her sleeves and bowed, “Sensei, I am ready for my lesson now!”

“Well, Heisuke ‘invented’ this way of cleaning once, first you spread the water across the floor,” Harada explained, “then you secure two scrubbers under your feet and then you can slide on the floor with them! It’s really fun, although you have to watch out that you don’t fall over. If you don’t like the idea though we can do it the traditional way.” Ryunosuke smirked at him and put down his bucket of water. “Whatever you decide, Hitomi. For once, I’m not gonna fight with Harada about something like this.”

“Who knew Heisuke could come up with such good ideas,” Hitomi giggled, “Let’s do it the fun way!” They spread the water across the floor and Hitomi carefully secured the large scrubbing brushes to her bare feet; they looked so big in comparison to her sandals. She stood up slowly careful to watch her balance and slid forward cautiously, like a child learning to walk. Once she felt comfortable she started to move more naturally across the floor, gliding almost gracefully in comparison to the others. “Oh wow this is much faster than scrubbing on my hands and knees,” she proclaimed with a bright smile, “…and you’re right, it’s way more fun!” It felt good to laugh and to have some company while cleaning, it made the work go so much faster.

Ryunosuke tried to get used to sliding on the wet floor when a large hand touched his shoulder suddenly, and he slipped and fell over because of the shock. “Harada, what the hell was that for?!”

“No real reason. I didn’t mean to make you fall… sorry.”

Grumbling, Ryunosuke got up again and continued his work. He had to admit that It felt good to do this together with Hitomi and Harada. They ended with a race between himself and Harada, with Hitomi as the referee, and Harada had been faster than him by a few seconds. When they were finished, he fell to the ground exhausted. “What are we gonna do now?” he asked, “Is it already time to go and ask Serizawa-san if we can take Hitomi on patrols with us?”

Hitomi gathered up the cleaning supplies as Harada and Ryunosuke took a rest. She hadn’t expected her day to turn into this much fun, especially while working on her chores. She wiped her forehead with a clean cloth, then passed one to each of the men saying, “here you go.”

“Thanks Hitomi,” Harada smiled back while wiping off his own face, “Yeah we should probably go track him down now and ask, Heisuke and Shin should be coming back any minute now.” Hitomi nodded and said, “Well while you both go and ask, I’ll head back to my room and change. Should I meet you by the courtyard?” Harada nodded before they moved off in different directions.

Harada walked with Ryunosuke to Serizawa’s quarters and knocked before entering. “Oi, Serizawa-sama, you mind if I take Hitomi along when I go out on rounds?” Serizawa looked at him peculiarly, “For what purpose do you need that wench of mine?” Niimi leaned over and said with a snide grin, “Harada, if it’s the company of a prostitute you desire that’s what Shimabara’s for.”

Harada clenched his fist hearing them call her those names, but he stayed calm and ignored Niimi. “Hitomi mentioned she needed some sewing supplies to fix some of our uniforms, that’s all. I figured it would be easier if she came with us since we already have to leave headquarters.“

Niimi stood up defiantly and glared at Harada, “patrols are no place for a woman, you should know that. What would the people think if they saw her walking with you on duty?” Serizawa nodded and said, “Agreed. She cannot go on patrol, however caring for the uniforms is important. If one of the other captains that are not on duty wish to take her to get the sewing supplies then that’s fine, providing it’s _after_ her work is done.” He opened his fan and began to wave it towards his face, “now leave us, and tell the wench that she should prepare us some afternoon tea...Oh and dog, don’t forget to refill my sake cask in town.”  Harada nodded knowing better than to object his orders, and closed the door as Niimi smiled victoriously.  
  
Hearing Serizawa and Niimi talk about Hitomi like this made Ryunosuke clench his fists in rage, but he forced himself to endure it. However as soon as they were far enough from the room he couldn’t hold back any longer. “Why the hell are they treating Hitomi like that? She’s done nothing wrong and is more obedient than me. I hate him for calling her that, I really do.”

“Calm down, Ryunosuke. I’m not exactly happy about this either, but for now we have to play along. I can’t just ignore his orders since he’s still one of my commanders, and who knows what he’ll do if either of you ignore him. We’ll just ask her to prepare his afternoon tea and then we can find one of the other captains to take her with us.”

They arrived at the courtyard and Harada explained to Hitomi that they could leave after she prepared some tea for Serizawa. She cheerfully walked back to the kitchen with Harada and Ryunosuke in tow. Hitomi boiled the water and carefully used the whisk to mix the matcha powder into the pot. Nagakura popped his head in and said, “Sano, Ryunosuke what are you both up to? Shouldn’t you be heading out on rounds?”

“We are, but we’re taking Hitomi with us, or rather you will be,” He grinned. “Huh? but I just got back…and it’s so hot outside,” Nagakura pouted. Harada put his hand on his friend's shoulder and explained what Serizawa told him; she was allowed to leave but only with someone who wasn’t on duty. “She’s been stuck here for days, you don’t want to break the girl’s heart do you,” Harada asked in a low whisper. Nagakura shook his head and stopped pouting, “No, I’ll do it for her sake.”

She finished up the tea and placed in on the serving tray, “I’m ready, I just need to deliver this now.” Hitomi walked to Serizawa’s room and knocked before entering, she was surprised to see he was in there with Niimi and the doctor again. Hitomi set it down and poured a cup for everyone, careful not to spill anything. As soon as she finished she bowed, and that’s when someone grabbed her hand. “It seems you need to be reminded of something for the second time today wench,” Niimi said gripping her slender wrist tighter with each word, “you are property of Commander Serizawa and serve only him; not the Rōshigumi.” He stared into her eyes as he twisted her wrist in a way that made her let out a tiny whimper. “It would be best if you remember that from now on. I’d hate to have to remind you once more.”

“Y..yes…Niimi-san,” she nervously stuttered out as he released her. Hitomi grabbed her aching wrist and bowed apologetically before leaving the room. Once she walked outside she refused to acknowledge the look on everyone’s faces. “We should get going, you’re already late starting patrols,” she said quietly while gazing down.

The group left without saying a word, but that didn’t mean they weren’t all angry over what occurred in front of them. “How can he get away with that?” Ryunosuke growled quietly enough for Hitomi not to hear how pissed off he was. “Calm down, I’ll talk to Kondou-san and Hijikata-san about all this,” Harada whispered.  
  
“Thanks Nagakura-san for coming with me, I know you just got back and are probably exhausted,” Hitomi said as they walked slowly behind the group on patrol. “It’s fine Hitomi,” he said with his normal grin, “I didn't really want to be stuck in the compound all afternoon anyway.” 

  
“I can’t calm down, she’s my friend and he could have broken her wrist! How can you just stand there and not do anything Harada? You always say that men should protect women no matter-” he said feeling frustrated with Harada's lack of action. “Ryunosuke, Leave it be,” Harada yelled, ignoring the fact that everyone turned around to look at them. He lowered his voice and whispered harshly, “I said I’d take care of it, so just shut your mouth. It’s not like you could do anything anyway.”  Ryunosuke clenched his jaw and muttered, “Sorry, It’s just…I’m worried.”

Hitomi stopped and so did Nagakura, both stared up at the other two for a moment as Harada yelled at Ryunosuke, then hushed his voice again. Her head sunk down once again as she realized what they were talking about. Nagakura playfully pulled her close to him with his arm, “Hey, I don’t want to see you frowning; It’s a nice day and you get to come out on a walk with the great Nagakura Shinpachi!” His grin grew wider as he let go of her and then flexed his muscles, “Everyone is going to be so jealous that you get to spend the afternoon with the strongest samurai of the Rōshigumi.”

Hitomi smiled once again and started to laugh, “You’re right Nagakura-san, It’s too nice out to be sad.” He smiled back and said, “stop being so formal, Just call me Shinpachi from now on Hitomi. So how about we go get that sewing stuff over with so we can go track down some sweets after?” Once she agreed he waved to the other two men and said they’d meet up again later.

* * *

Harada made his rounds silently since he was in a bad mood after what Ryunosuke said. Of course he was angry as well, why wouldn’t he be? He hated seeing any man hurt a women, let alone seeing it happen to Hitomi right in front of his eyes. Ryunosuke had no idea how much it pained him; but at the same time he knew he was still powerless when Niimi or Serizawa gave him orders. They were his superiors, so reporting everything to Hijikata was the best thing he could do. After all the last thing he wanted was to get her into any sort of trouble and see them hurt her even more.

It was finally time to meet back up, and as they approached he could see her smiling from a mile away. “Ne, Hitomi, how was it to get out of the compound after such a long time?” Harada asked her while patting her shoulder gently. “It’s so nice,” she said with a big grin, “Shinpachi and I went and got a few supplies, and I had some money leftover to buy some fabric so I can make something to wear to the festival next month!” Nagakura smiled and acted like he was bragging, “Yeah, then I took her to the tea house for some dango, my treat of course.”

“Thank you everyone,” she said while standing up and giving a bow, “you really all cheered me up, so again, thank you very much.” Harada smiled and said, “Anytime Hitomi, Now how about we head back, It’ll start getting dark soon.” As Nagakura picked up her basket of supplies, she grabbed ahold of both Ryunosuke and Harada hands for a moment and said, “Since I didn't get a chance to earlier, how about I race you both back to headquarters!”

“You want to race us? That doesn’t seem very fair,” Ryunosuke said raising an eyebrow. Harada smirked, “Fine by me, but I won’t show any mercy even though you’re a lady!” Hitomi took her finger and poked him in the chest while saying, “Mercy? I don’t need it, I’m a lot faster than you think Harada-san!”

“Hey, hold up, are you really gonna make me carry all Hitomi’s supplies back alone?!” Nagakura said trying to convince one of them to stay back. Harada laughed, “You’ve got my squad to help you, Shin. They’re happy to help and walk back with ya.”  Nagakura sighed and lowered his shoulders in defeat, feeling slightly disappointed in his friend for abandoning him.  
  
“Are you ready?” When he got a ‘yes’ answer from each of them, Harada called to Shinpachi, “Can you give us the sign to start?” Shinpachi sighed once again, but raised his hand and said,  “…go.”  
  
She waited till Nagakura gave the signal, then took off like the wind. Harada and Ryunosuke may have longer legs on their side, but she was quite light on her feet. Hitomi could hear them catching up, so she pushed herself to run faster. She rounded the corner and that’s when she teased, “You’ll never catch up to me!” Hitomi could see headquarters up ahead, now all she had to do was make it just a bit farther!

“Hey, she’s seriously gonna win!” Ryunosuke said in annoyance as he and Harada pushed themselves to run faster, but Hitomi was always a few steps ahead of them. The two men arrived at the same time, a few seconds after Hitomi. Ryunosuke was gasping for air while Harada exhaled chuckling as the gir was jumping up and down gleefully. “So, Hitomi, what do the losers have to do? Treat you to a meal?”

When Harada asked what the losers would have to do, Hitomi thought for a few moments. “Hmmmm,” she said aloud, “I really don’t need or want anything…Oh I know!” She clapped her hands together and bowed, “please just continue to look after me.”

Harada laughed and patted her head, “That’s something we would do without you even asking Hitomi. However if that’s what you want, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Ryunosuke just rolled his eyes. “I don’t get it, what are you so happy about Harada?”

“Haven’t you learned anything at all Ryunosuke? Hearing that Hitomi wants us to look after her is one of the best things a lady could ever tell you. Don’t talk about it as if it was nothing.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah…” Ryunosuke sighed heavily, “Okay, Let’s go in.” As Ryunosuke and Hitomi walked back inside the compound Harada smiled, the sight of her looking so happy warmed his heart. Hitomi seemed to be in a much better state now than she was a week ago, and that's what he wanted most right now. With the way she was acting at the end of the day, maybe it was finally time to tell her how he truly felt.  
  
“Sano, way to leave me behind,” Shinpachi said breaking his train of thought. “Hmmm? Oh yeah, I forgot you had to carry all her stuff,” He laughed, “I’ll make it up to you, let’s go out and drink some sake later.” Shinpachi grinned and said, “Now that sounds like fun, It’s on you right Sano? I spent all my money on cheering Hitomi up, man that girl can eat sweets.” He laughed again and patted his friend on his shoulder, “yeah yeah, it’s on me, and thanks for your help.” His best friend gave a wink and said, "Thanks for what? Taking that little cutie out and showing her off all over town? I should be thanking you."  

Sano smirked and said, "...are you trying to make me jealous? If so forget about that free sake." His friend suddenly shook his head, "No, of course not, I was just joking!!! Don't take away my sake Sano!" He chuckled at his complete change in attitude and patted him on the shoulder, "I won't, now how about we get all that stuff to her room before we go out."


	6. A Budding Romance

Headquarters was seemingly quiet that evening since Serizawa had taken some of the men to Shimibara after they captured some corrupt ronin and businessmen that day. Unfortunately Niimi stayed behind, so she decided to stay far away from that section of the compound that he worked in.

It was an uncomfortably warm evening, so after finishing her chores Hitomi decided to take her sewing outside. She took her basket over to the steps overlooking the courtyard, where the breeze offered some relief. She hummed to herself as she began to hand stitch the various strips of layered fabric to the obi, which would be the centerpiece of her festival kimono. She had been working in the evenings on it in the hopes that she’d have it finished in time.

Harada just came back from his patrols in town when he heard Hitomi’s humming. He listened to her voice for a few moments, and it brought a small smile to his face. It reminded him of bird singing at springtime, bright and beautiful. Since she appeared to be spending the evening alone he decided to pay her a visit. “Yo, Hitomi, Working on your festival kimono? Are you making good progress?”

”Konbanwa Harada-san,” Hitomi said as she looked up, “well, somewhat. The kimono itself is tough to sew just because of it’s size…so I decided to take a break and work on the obi for a while.” She noticed he was still wearing his uniform and had his spear in tow. “I didn’t realize you were out on rounds, I thought maybe you went to Shimabara with the rest of the group,” she mentioned while finishing off a few more stitches, “nearly everyone went with Serizawa-sama, and he even dragged Ibuki-kun along as well.” It took her a few moments before she realized she was being rude. “Oh, um, please have a seat if you want,” Hitomi said, “you’re probably tired from being out most of the evening.”

He sat down next to her and watched her slender fingers work with the needle carefully. “It’s fine. There weren’t any problems, so we had to just walk around. But I’m getting kinda hungry now… are there any leftovers? I went on my rounds early, so I didn’t have dinner yet.”

Hitomi sighed, “there were leftovers, but Niimi-san insisted he needed them to feed the prisoners they captured in the morning.”

“What the hell?! Since when do we keep prisoners?” Harada snorted angrily. “This man’s starting to make my life become hell. Really.”

“Heisuke-kun said the same thing, he seemed pretty mad that they were ordered to lock them up near Niimi-san’s work area,” she explained, “Even Saitou-san looked angry, but since it was under Serizawa-sama’s orders nobody could question it.” Harada sighed, “If even Saitou looks angry then the Rōshigumi is changing in a bad way.”

She folded the Obi back into her sewing basket gently, careful to tuck the needle away safely. “Since you’re hungry I don’t mind making you something,” she smiled while standing up, “How does that sound?” He grinned back at Hitomi, “That would be really nice. Just something simple, a small meal is fine, Thanks!”

“You’re welcome, I love to cook so I don’t mind at all,” Hitomi said changing the subject as they walked to the kitchen, “Just don’t tell Heisuke-kun I made you a special meal…he may start chasing me down after his evening rounds.” She started to boil some water for tea, then went to the stove and started chopping some of the leftover veggies. After thinly slicing up a piece of pork she tossed everything in sesame oil with a bit of seasoning to give it a good taste.

Hitomi wasn’t quite sure why she was smiling so much as she was cooking, she had cooked for many people before. This time it was different, she was cooking just for Harada. The thought made her cheeks flush as she spaced out for a moment before realizing the tea water was boiling.

She poured them each a single cup of green tea and let it cool while she stirred his dinner. “Harada-san, could you grab a bowl from the pile of clean ones over there,” she asked while adding the cold rice to heat it up, “It’ll be ready in a minute.” The scent of ginger, sesame and pork filled the air, and Hitomi quietly hoped that he would like it.

“Wow, it smells delicious,” He smiled at her brightly, “Having someone like you around is a blessing.”  
  
“Thanks,” Hitomi said as she took the bowl from his hands, letting her soft fingers brush his hands momentarily. She turned around with a shy smile and filled up his bowl with a heaping pile of food. She carefully handed it back over to him and said, “Here you go Harada-san.”

Harada smirked when her fingers brushed his;  even thought it was just for a brief moment he enjoyed how soft they felt in comparison to his own. “Thanks. - Mhm, it’s delicious!” he called out after having eaten a small bite of it. “You’re better at cooking than Saitou...and he’s pretty damn good considering the fact that everything he cooks is tofu.”

“Great, I’m glad you like it,” Hitomi said while picking up her cup of tea. She giggled when he mentioned the Saitou. “He does really enjoy his tofu doesn’t he,” she laughed, “Miso with tofu, tofu over rice, toasted tofu…I can imagine Heisuke complaining already!”

“I’d love to cook for you all the time; Before I came here I had thought about opening my own restaurant…” she said out loud. Those dreams however had been ruined the second Serizawa stepped into her uncle’s shop. She tried not to get sad about it, and instead focussed on the next best thing. “But as long as my cooking makes you all happy that will do for now!”  
  
He set aside his empty bowl to put one hand on Hitomi’s shoulder and look into her eyes. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here. You deserve a better fate than being Serizawa-san’s servant. And he certainly doesn’t deserve a lady as gentle and beautiful as you by his side. He can have my mother if he just wants a woman around himself.” He let out a humourless laugh, remembering how she had been so fond of the idea to kick him out of the clan. They’d get along so well with each other; he felt the same amount of hatred and thankfulness to both of them. “You just need to believe that we’ll find a way to set you free.”  
  
The way his hazel eyes stared into hers was enough to make her heart beat quickly, and his words made it race even faster. He called her beautiful again, and he told her not to worry. Though the idea of being freed from Serizawa seemed impossible, she believed he meant what he said. For the first time in a few months she finally felt a shred of hope. “Arigatou Harada-san,” she said blushing.

A wry smile formed on his lips as he quickly reached out and pulled her into his lap. “You know this…” He briefly reached up to touch her blushing cheek, “…is cute. Really. It suits you well”

A small squeak escaped her lips as he surprised Hitomi and pulled her onto his lap. The warmth of his arms around her made her skin tingle with excitement. She had never been this close before to a man, let alone one as attractive as Harada. The feel of his calloused hands on her cheek made them turn even brighter red. Hitomi sat there a moment and said, “c….cute?  I…well, thank you Harada-san.”

“Sanosuke, call me Sanosuke.” Harada lowered his head a little to bury it in her neck, taking in the sweet scent of lavender on her skin. “No need to thank me; it’s the truth.” After hesitating for a moment he told Hitomi, “You probably think I’m like this with every woman I talk to, but that’s not true. You’re not like any of them, to me you’re different.”  
  
She could feel his breath on her neck, and her hands wandered on top of his out of instinct. She nodded as he spoke; Hitomi was embarrassed to admit that the thought of him with another made her feel a wee bit jealous. But now she was in the kitchen with him, and was so close to his body. “I’m not sure why you think that, I’m nothing special.” She shyly looked down at her hands, “…but...you make me feel, well, different too.” Her heart raced as she said in a nervous whisper,” …and I like the way it feels.”

“Everyone thinks they’re nobody special, but to those who like or love them they see them differently.” His heart was beating a little faster now, and this was just one of the reasons she stood out from the rest. No one else had made him feel this way before; he was finding himself longing more and more to be around the intoxicating sunshine her aura gave off. Harada placed his right hand over hers so he his large fingers would intertwine with her slender ones. “I don’t understand why you make me feel this way, but at the same time I don’t need to.” Harada placed his left hand under her chin to gently turn her head around to face him. After a slight pause he leaned in to kiss her tenderly.

The moment he turned her head, Hitomi’s lower lip slightly quivered as she realized what was coming next.  He was a powerful samurai captain, yet he was so gentle with her. The moment their lips touched her nerves gave way to excitement, and for a moment she even forgot to breathe. She had just been kissed by Harada Sanosuke, and it felt absolutely wonderful. As his lips released her face turned shades of pink again, but a smile formed as well. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she just nuzzled her cheek up against his and leaned further back into his chest. She knew he could feel her heart beating, and that would tell him all he needed to know.

Harada felt the urge to never move again as he held onto her, but it seemed the universe had other plans. Interrupting their moment, A loud echo of a terrible growl followed along with the sword of clashing steel filled the evening air. He could feel her body tense up as she said, “Sanosuke, that growl it sounds, like that night…”

“I’m the only officer left here so I have to check this out,” Harada said while standing up and pushing Hitomi behind himself protectively, “I want you to stay with me Hitomi, don’t leave my side OK?” They left the kitchen and hurried over to the compound where Niimi and Sannan had been working on the water of life experiments. Harada winced when he saw the white-haired man with the red eyes opposing Niimi. “Dammit, one got loose again? It looks like they haven’t made any progress either,” he mumbled to himself.

The rasetsu seemed to be a whole lot stronger than Niimi, who appeared to be having some problems getting it buck under control. “It’s too dangerous to take you down there, so wait for me here Hitomi,” he said in a calm, yet serious tone, “If things get out of control listen for my instructions.” He took ahold of her hand for a moment to calm any fears she may have had before rushing down towards the fight

“I have this handled, I don’t need your help,” Niimi growled as he heard Harada approach, “He just started changing, He can still be brought under control” The man was unarmed, but his face  seemed to go back and forth between a look of hunger and extreme pain.  
  
“It doesn’t look that way to me,” he snorted. His spear shot forward and pierced the man’s shoulder, throwing him back. “I thought you were supposed to be improving these things; if this is how they react to the formula we certainly can’t let them walk around here freely!”

“Fool, do you think it’s easy to perfect them?” Niimi moved forward as the man groaned and used his own Katana to pin it’s leg to the ground. “If it was everyone would have an army of Rasetsu.” 

Harada kept his spear at the ready, watching the creature’s every move as he said, “Where is Sannan? According to Kondou you aren’t supposed to be here without him.” Niimi remained silent as he took his fists and landed a heavy blow to it’s head, knocking it out.

“See, I told you I don’t need your help,” Niimi snarled while beginning to drag the body back towards the building, “I suggest you say nothing about what you saw to the others Harada.” Niimi glared at him, “after all you wouldn’t want anything to happen to that little wench you left up there.” He grinned viciously, “don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you look at her…just something to keep in mind.”

“You leave Hitomi out of this” he growled angrily as he gripped his spear, “I swear if you dare lay a single finger on her I’ll make sure you will be the one paying the price.”

“That’s no way to talk to an officer that outranks you Harada,” Niimi said while continuing to take his subject back to the holding area. “I suggest for her sake you keep your mouth shut and stay out of my business.”

Harada snarled at the commander before turning around to leave in a huff. He knew Niimi’s threats were real, but he sure as hell didn’t like the way he was trying to extort him into not reporting the incident. Since Niimi dared to threaten her it gave him even more reason to tell both Hijikata and Kondou about this; he wouldn’t be bullied by this monster, and he certainly wasn’t going to let Hitomi be either.

Once he returned to her, Hitomi hesitantly asked “Is everything alright now?” She had seen them arguing over something, but she was too far away to hear what was said.

Harada pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head briefly, trying to shake off the angry thoughts crossing his mind. “Yeah, it’s fine, and I’m fine. He’s just really knows how to piss me off, that’s all.”

Hitomi could still sense the anger in his tone, so she decided not to press the matter any further. Instead she walked closer to him, letting her hand grab ahold of his in the hopes that it would make him feel better. There was a crack of thunder which made Hitomi jump, and then the rain began to fall heavily. “Eeek, we should probably get inside somewhere before we both get soaked,” she said as their walk turned into more of a sprint.

He sighed heavily when she took his hand and enjoyed the warmth of her hand. It was as if she knew exactly what to do to get his mind off things. When the storm clouds broke open he could feel the cool rain hitting his skin. “Ah, right. Do you want to come to my room? It’s okay if you don’t want to.” 

She blushed again as he asked if she wanted to go with him to his room. “Well I’m not allowed to be alone in any of the men’s quarters, but if we sat outside your room that wouldn’t be breaking the rules…right?” she asked shyly, “…that is I mean if you're not tired and still want to be with me for a bit.” Hitomi wasn’t quite ready to have him leave her yet because she liked this feeling of him next to her.

Harada chuckled slightly, “We can stay outside of my room, that’s fine. I’m tired, but not too tired to stay with you.” He had forgotten about the rule that Serizawa put in place; he understood it but was pleased that Hitomi was smart and had thought of a way around it.

Hitomi squeezed his hand a little tighter in response as she quickly followed him back to his room. By the time they reached the captain's quarters they were both quite wet from the sudden rainstorm, but it felt good considering how humid and stuffy it was earlier in the evening. She twisted her hair and wrung it out like a towel before taking a seat next to him.

“Sanosuke,” she asked while watching the rain fall, “I never asked you this before…Shinpachi mentioned you all came from Edo, right?” Hitomi’s head leaned against his shoulder, "Do you have any family there?"

“Actually I was born in Iyo, but I moved to Edo after an incident. To clarify I was in a bit of a fight with some higher ranking men who insulted me saying that I could not do anything right, including killing myself. I was so angry that I pulled out my blade and sliced open my gut from left to right to prove them wrong. I survived, don’t ask me how, but when I returned home my clan kicked me out. So I left and eventually ended up at the Shieikan,” he explained and added, “At Kondou-san’s dojo I made real friends; Heisuke, Shinpachi, even HIjikata meant a lot to me. I wanted to remain by their side when the Rōshigumi was founded so I went with them. I thought maybe I could do something positive for Japan.”

Hitomi sat and listened to him talk about a bit of his past and was surprised to hear some of it. She couldn’t imagine what it was like for him to be kicked out of his own clan, that had to have been more painful than cutting himself open. “Well I’m glad that you found friends; Heisuke, Shinpachi, and everyone else have all been so nice since I’ve been here,” she smiled, “It’s almost like you’re all brothers, especially with the way you all pick on each other.”

“And Kondou-san seems like a good leader, at least from what I’ve seen,” she mentioned, “he seems to be smart, and caring as well. It’s hard to believe that he and Serizawa are working together.”

“Kondou is undeniably a better commander than Serizawa. Just as you said, he’s smart and caring, and he asks for our opinions. He’s the complete opposite of Serizawa.” Harada let his fingers mingle with hers once again as he asked, “How about you, What about your family?”

“I grew up in Sendai, but after my father was killed in battle my mother and I moved to live with his brother in Osaka,” she explained, “I lost my mother a few years later, but I remained with my uncle and his family. I had both a young niece and nephew, Noriko and Ren. I do miss those little troublemakers, I hope they are doing well.” She hadn’t heard from anyone since she left even though she had written them. Maybe they had already forgotten about her and moved on. She let out a small laugh, “though I suppose sometimes having Ibuki and Heisuke around is almost like having two children to look after.”

He couldn’t imagine how hard her life had been growing up without her father, let alone experiencing the pain of losing her mother after. Somehow though through all of that she had been able to stay so positive; it seems Hitomi was a stronger woman than the others would ever realize. “Ah, that must be hard missing them...but you’re right, they are both like children sometimes.”

Hitomi leaned in a bit closer to feel the warmth of his body as the storm disappeared leaving behind cooler air. “I have always felt so guilty for always having to rely on others to take care of me,” she explained, “…in a way I think the gods knew what they were doing when they sent Serizawa into that shop.”  Hitomi took ahold of his hand tighter as she continued, “for the first time ever I feel like I actually have a place to call home. I’m grateful to have ended up here with you all.”

“I’m glad you ended up here too, even though I’d have preferred that it had been under different circumstances,” Harada said, “But I want you to know that the Roshigumi are quite a mixed bunch, it’s now your family as well.” He felt the goosebumps on her skin, so he put his arm around her shoulders to warm her body. He looked up to the dark sky which had finally cleared, “Hey look...The stars came out. They look beautiful, don’t they?

She smiled as the warmth of his arm transferred to her shoulders. “They are,” she said with a sigh. It truly did turn out to be a beautiful night, in more ways than just the sky. Hitomi leaned her head against his chest, the sound of his heart beating echoed in her ear. This all felt so right, so comfortable. Her eyes drifted closed and a smile remained on her lips as she let herself relax on him.

“Hey, If you fall asleep now I’ll be forced to bring you inside my room because I wouldn’t want to have you wake up all alone tomorrow,” he smiled as his hand played with her wet hair, “But since Serizawa forbade you to sleep with me I suppose you better go back to your own room huh?”  
  
“I’m not falling asleep,” she giggled as he messed her wet hair, “I was just, getting comfortable that’s all!” Truthfully she probably would have fallen asleep, and she wouldn’t have minded waking up next to him. But rules were rules, and she certainly didn’t want to get caught breaking them. “I suppose so,” she said with a sigh, “I do need to change out of these wet clothes anyway, I don’t want to end up catching a cold.”

“Good idea, how about I walk you there,” he said as he stood up and held out his hand to help her up. He knew she could make her way there on her own, however after what happened earlier he wanted to make sure that Niimi was nowhere near her room. Call it intuition, but he just didn’t trust that man.

“Sure, I’d love that,” she nodded while taking his hand and letting him help her back to her feet. They started back towards the smaller servant’s quarters, and that’s when she heard a group approach. “Sano,” yelled Nagakura, “There you are. I thought you were gonna come join us at Shimabara after your rounds…the ladies were all asking about you.” Heisuke grinned and let out a hiccup before he spoke, “Yeah, none of them wanted Shinpachi as usual. Oh, the food was good too…and the Sake…”

“Heisuke, Are you drunk,” Hitomi giggled. Heisuke shook his rose-colored face, “Hell no Hitomi, I can drink a lot more than I did, I behaved myself tonight!” Nagakura shook his head, almost losing his balance as he slurred, “Don’t let him fool you, he’s drunk! And tomorrow he’ll be whining during his morning rounds about having a hangover.”

“But you sound drunk too Shinpachi,” Hitomi commented, “and I thought you both have rounds together tomorrow?”

“We do...and he’ll complain louder than I ever would” Heisuke said while grinning, “You know you /really/ missed out tonight Sano.” Nagakura nodded and looked at them peculiarly, “HEY….why are you both together…and out so late, there isn’t trouble is there?” His face curled up into a pout, “If you had fun without me Sano my feelings would be hurt!”

“BAKA, we had fun without Sano tonight, so maybe you hurt HIS feelings…or WORSE Hitomi’s Feelings,” Heisuke said while he smacked him on the shoulder. Nagakura fell to his knees and grabbed Hitomi’s hands, “NO! I Didn’t hurt your feelings did I? I’ll make it up to you both. I’ll bring you some sweets tomorrow…and I’ll buy some sake for Sano…” Heisuke started laughing as Hitomi looked up at Harada and said, “I think they are a little more drunk than usual…”

“I probably should go with you the next time to watch over you so you don’t drink too much!” He let out a small laugh. “Let me take Hitomi to her room and then I’ll look after you two, okay? Just stay right here…” Harada knew they’d do what he wanted them to do. They were drunk, and they probably wouldn’t even be able to find their own rooms in their current state.

He lead Hitomi back to her room and leaned down to place a small kiss on her forehead. “Sleep well. I’m going back now and make sure they go to bed, okay?”

“I will.” Hitomi’s hand softly took ahold of his one last time, and she stretched up on her tiptoes to plant a sweet kiss on his cheek in return. “Goodnight Sanosuke,” she said with a smile while reluctantly letting go. With that she turned around and went into her room, smiling brighter than the sun as she closed the door.


	7. Serving more than Sake

Hitomi was awake just before the sun came up, and left her room to start her chores. It was laundry day, so she would be repairing and washing all the uniforms. While it was hard work she enjoyed that day; it was the one time she got to see everyone in the Rōshigumi. Today was a bit different however, and she had an even brighter glow about her. It seemed the budding romance between her and Harada over the past few days had something to do with it.

As Hitomi began to set up her laundry line Saitou was the first to arrive as usual, carrying not only his uniform, but Hijikata’s and Kondou’s. “Morning Suzume-san,” he said quietly. He was always so quiet and polite, it was hard to believe that he was such a brilliant fighter. “Good Morning Saitou-san,” she responded back, “I’ll make sure to finish yours first, you have the afternoon rounds correct?”

He nodded and said, “Yes, thank you Suzume-san. Souji should be bringing his along after breakfast.” Unlike Saitou, Okita was always the opposite - bringing his uniform at the last moment, if at all. She laughed, “We’ll see about that! You may need to remind him to bring it more than 15 minutes before your rounds…I don’t want to send him out with a wet uniform again!”

Saitou nodded, “Agreed, I will go and speak with him shortly. Thank you Suzume-san.” He turned around and left, so she started to scrub his blue and white haori first humming to herself to pass the time. She wondered if Heisuke and Shinpachi were able to get up in time for their morning rounds, otherwise she would imagine Hijikata-san wouldn’t be too happy with them.

A smirk on his lips, humming slightly, Sano walked over to Hitomi to give his haori to her so she could wash it later. “Morning my hime-sama, how are you?”

Hitomi looked up from her washboard and smiled, “Good, but now it’s even better.” Once the words rolled off her tongue her face flushed a bit, did she really just say that? It was a bit embarrassing, but it was the truth. She had been waiting for him to appear, and now that he had her heart was fluttering once again.

He chuckled and patted her head. “It looks like you’re working so hard for us again,” he said while holding the Haori in place as she clipped it to the line, “Do you need any help?”

“How about you tell Hijikata-san to stop destroying his uniform after every fight,” she laughed, “I swear he’s getting almost as bad as Heisuke-kun!” Hitomi opened her sewing basket and carefully threaded the needle before starting to repair the stitch-work on the frayed uniform sleeve. “I swear every time Heisuke returns from rounds he either has bloodstains, slashes, or sleeve damage,” She rambled, “I think I may start teasing him and call him Heisuke the destroyer.” Her hands stitched the fabric back together quickly, and within ten minutes it looked like new. 

“Ah yeah, that’s because he’s such a hot-head and gets into fights way too quickly.” Harada let out a sigh while watching her sew, “And lecturing him just doesn’t help; Shin is a bad teacher there. Speaking of those two, do you want me to go and look for them so I can tell them to bring you their laundry?”

“That sure does sound like Heisuke-kun,” she laughed, “and that would be great, Thanks! I’ll work on Kondou-san’s uniform in the meantime.” Hitomi hung Hijikata’s up to dry then went back to work on inspecting the others, which thankfully just needed to be cleaned. Soon there was a sea of blue and white hanging on the clothesline, blowing in the warm breeze.

Hitomi was humming to herself as she hung the last of the regular laundry, and began to fold the soldiers hakama’s properly in order to keep the shape of the pleats. She felt a hand on her shoulder, though it wasn’t the familiar red hand wraps she expected.

“Well, well, aren’t we in a fine mood today,” Niimi said. Goosebumps formed on her skin as he spoke. It felt like Niimi always waited till she was alone to come and talk to her. “Um, well yes it’s a nice day to be working outside,” she said, “Is there something Serizawa-sama needs Niimi-san?”

“…Actually there is,” He said while his hand moved down her shoulder to her arm, “Once you’re done with these chores he needs you to go and clean the common room from top to bottom. There is a big meeting later with some representatives of the Bakufu this evening. Serizawa wants his wench to serve our guests sake tonight.”

“You will need to look like a proper young woman,” he said breathing heavier onto her neck, “so there will be clothing left in your room for you to wear; I even picked it out myself.” He leaned in closer, “I hope you appreciate what I’ve done for you.” Appreciate him? Why would she do that? All he was doing was just creeping her out even more so than usual.

“So Serizawa-sama just wants me to serve sake to the guests,” she repeated trying to hide how nervous he was making her. “Of course that’s all; you just need to keep their cups full and look pretty.” Hitomi froze in place as he roughly grabbed ahold of her face, “Even a pathetic wench such as you should be able to handle that task.”

“This should go without saying,” Niimi continued as his fingers applied more pressure to her jaw, “But If you were to embarrass Serizawa and the Rōshigumi I don’t think you’d live to see another day; and having to kill a pretty, young girl such as yourself would be such a waste.”  
  
“Niimi-san, Please let go,” she said, “...that hurts...” He smirked while staring at her coldly, making no effort to let go even as he could see Harada approaching.  
  
Sano clenched his fists when he saw Niimi with Hitomi, trying to resist the urge to punch him for placing his disgusting hands on her face. “What the hell are you doing Niimi? Take your hands off her. _Now_.” Niimi refused to let go of Hitomi as he snarled, “I warned you before, that’s no way to talk to your superior!”

“I don’t care if you’re my superior or even God himself; you’re harassing Hitomi, now _let her go_.”  
  
“Heh, I hate to break it to you but Serizawa gave me free reign to do what I want with her.” Niimi puffed out his chest and continued, “so you should have no problems with how I treat the little wench.” He purposely moved his hand from Hitomi's jaw down to the base of her neck. A slight gasp escaped her lips as his iron grip restricted her airway.  
  
“Oh I have a problem with it,” Harada sneered at Serizawa’s vice commander, “and the problem is that you are hurting her.” Unable to contain his anger anymore, he step closer to them as he cracked his knuckles.

“Niimi, Harada, What’s going on over here,” Hijikata said coldly as he stepped out from behind the hanging laundry. Niimi gave him a coy smile, “nothing important, though you really need to keep your subordinate in line.” He let go of Hitomi’s throat then turned to walk away, “Remember your orders wench, and be sure not to screw this up.”

“I see what you were talking about Sano,” Hijikata said while bending down next to Hitomi who was coughing slightly, “are you OK Suzume-san?” She folded her hands into each other and nodded slightly as she stared at the grass. “Kondou-san and I will be at the meeting tonight, so don’t worry about being alone with him OK?” Hitomi nodded again and said quietly, “Arigatou, Hijikata-san.”

He stood up and looked straight at Harada, “Sano, I know you’re pissed off, but you need to stay calm and be patient. Aizu hast taken notice to their antics, It’s only a matter of time now before we get the order.” Hijikata put his hand on his shoulder, “If you can do that for me I’ll switch around your duties and make sure you can keep a closer eye on her, all right?”  
  
When Hijikata touched his shoulder, Sano sighed heavily. “I know. Thanks...but since when did the demon become so gentle?”

“Gentle? I am no such thing,” Hijikata turned away awkwardly, coughing slightly, “I’m just not as cruel as Serizawa. So are you going to do things my way or not?”

“Yeah, you know I will Hijikata.” He nodded and turned away to leave them alone, and Sano immediately walked over to Hitomi to pull her into his arms. "Hey," He whispered gently while running his hands through her hair, “Are you okay?”

Her eyes were wet as she clung to him tightly. “Why does he keep doing these things,” she asked, “He scares me. Why won't he just leave me alone?” Hitomi buried her face in his chest as Hitomi choked back her tears, “I don’t ever complain about what I’m told to do, but this time I just don’t like it. At all.”

Sanosuke listened quietly as she started to cry, making his heart ache. He wondered if this was Niimi's way of getting back at him for telling both Hijikata and Kondou what he was up to. After they had put him on a short leash with the fury experiments, and he had been demoted to a vice commander. “Shhh, calm down. I don’t like it either, but we have to play along for now.” The Rōshigumi members had talked about this recently. Kondou-san had told them that maybe, in the far future, they be ordered by Aizu to kill Serizawa if he continued behaving the way he did. “It’ll be fine,” Sano mumbled and soothed her by rubbing his hand along her back, “You can trust in Hijikata; He'll do everything within his power OK Hitomi?”

She pulled away momentarily and wiped her eyes, “OK….I’ll try not to worry.” Hitomi gently grabbed his hand, “I know you’re going to tell me not to apologize, but I’m sorry for being so much trouble for you and the others. You all have enough to worry about already without _this_ as well.”  
  
“It’s fine, you’re no trouble for anyone. You’ve done nothing wrong and are just caught up in this mess; the problem is Serizawa and Niimi.”

“Sano, Hitomi, what happened,” Heisuke said in a concerned tone as they both ran up to them, “Hijikata just asked me to take over your rounds tonight.” Shinpachi nodded, “and he asked me to help keep an extra eye on you.”

“Don’t keep us in the dark Sano, was it Niimi again?” Heisuke said clenching his fist, “Did he say something this time? Did he hurt you Hitomi?” Shinpachi growled, “I’m already in a bad mood and this just pisses me off more...tell us what happened so I know how hard I have to hit that ass!”  
  
“Heisuke, Shinpachi,” Hitomi said while grabbing Harada’s hand, “…can we please not talk about this right now?” Harada had finally calmed her down and now the way they were talking just got her upset all over again. She knew they were trying to help, but Hitomi just really didn’t want all this attention. She just wanted to go clean the hall and get the evening over with.  
  
Sano shrugged, “…Yeah, it was him. But leave it alone for now or else I’ll get all upset again, and so will Hitomi.” Shinpachi furrowed his eyebrows and put his hand onto Sanosuke’s shoulder. “Sorry, I know that this has to be hard on you. I just want you to know that I’m there if you need help.”

“I know. Thanks, Shin.”

“Hey, I’m here too, Sano-san!”

He let out a rough chuckle, “Yeah, Heisuke. Thanks.” After the other two captains took their leave, Harada helped Hitomi clean the main hall where the meeting was to take place. By the end of the afternoon she was starting to feel a bit better; she just had to stay positive and trust in Harada and his friends. Being upset would only make things harder on him as well, so she put on her brave face and just kept her fingers crossed that everything would go smoothly.

She returned to her room after visiting the bathhouse and changed into the “outfit” Niimi had provided. Hitomi hardly liked the idea of something he touched on her skin, but she really had no choice in the matter. She put on the kimono made of heavy fabric, noting it was intended for winter wear rather than spring. She carefully wrapped and tucked it before putting on the elaborate matching Obi. After placing her long hair in a traditional up-do she added the hair ornament and some pink rouge to her lips.

She looked in the mirror at herself and exhaled slowly. The kimono was cut too low on purpose, exposing more of her chest than she would have liked, as well as the elongated slit revealing her leg. She felt like this was clothes better befitting a geisha than her modest self. “ _Just wear it for now_ ,” she thought to herself while trying to ignore the harsh red and golden tones of the fabric, “ _This will all be over soon_.”

Hitomi heard Harada tap on her door outside, so she sheepishly walked out. Her face was flushed with embarrassment, “It looks bad…doesn’t it? I really hope the others don’t see me looking like this.”

Sano sighed heavily. He was used to seeing a real geisha wearing this kind of clothing, but instead of looking enticing it just looked so out of place on Hitomi. “I wouldn’t say it looks bad, just doesn't suit you. The thing I’m more worried about is what they’ll make you do later.”  
  
“What do you mean? I’m just supposed to serve sake,” She said a bit confused.  
  
“Ah, yeah; only serve sake…" He couldn’t hide the skeptical tone in his voice. While Hitomi may be naive in regards to the way that men think, he knew that Niimi didn’t dress her up like this just to have her serve sake. She was their entertainment for the night, and the thought of what she may have to endure made his blood boil. He gave her a kiss on her forehead to calm her fears, "forget I said that, I'm just overthinking things." Hijikata was going to be there, as well as Kondou, Niimi would never do something so brazen with them their in the room.  
  
Hitomi started walking towards the main hall as Sanosuke seemed deep in thought. “Ooff, This is really heavy! I don’t know how am I supposed to serve in this thing.” On the way there she ran through everything in her head again. Another servant would be in charge of bringing the sake to the room as well as getting refills. She would then bring it in and serve the guests first in order of rank, then the other Rōshigumi members. Once their cups were filled she was to just keep an eye on them and make sure that their cups were always full. If they had any other requests she would just relay them to one of the servants outside.

“Hijikata-san said you would be guarding the hall outside with Saitou-san,” she said while taking his arm for support while walking in the tall wooden shoes, “I’m glad you’ll be close, but I wish you could stay with me.”  
  
“I’ve been ordered not to enter the meeting room under any circumstances. I’m sorry Hitomi, you’ll have to rely on Hijikata and Kondou tonight. ” She took his hand and smiled softly, “I understand.” They remained quiet before arriving at the main hall where Kondou, Hijikata, and Saitou were waiting. Their reactions to her appearance made Hitomi's nerves start to get the best of her, but after closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she quickly buried them. Hitomi had to be strong and brave just like the others in order to get through this. She wasn’t alone, and others who cared about her would be nearby. She just needed to focus on serving the guests and this would all be over soon. “Ganbaro, Harada-san,” she said with a soft smile while looking into his eyes assuring not only herself, but him as well before turning to walk into the hall to take her place before the guests arrive.

Hitomi slid the door open and politely bowed her head before carrying in the tray. She silently moved in front of the two guests; pouring the first cup for the older man first. Once she had finished pouring he lifted up her chin and ran his finger along her jaw as if her were inspecting her. She sat silently in place as he spoke, “Serizawa, your mistress is quite beautiful, where did you acquire her?” Serizawa laughed, “Oh that wench is not my mistress. I prefer my women to be more refined. She’s just a servant of mine.” The man looked at her and she averted her eyes from his gaze as he joked, “Well If she is just your servant than I’d like the name of your concubine!”

As the men laughed Hitomi ignored them and poured the second guest’s cup. While he didn’t say anything, she felt his eyes on her the entire time, staring as if she were some sort of doll. She felt uncomfortable, but kept her face emotionless. Hitomi moved on to Serizawa-sama and poured his cup, then gently held it out to him. He took it, but as she shifted towards Kondou-san Serizawa said, “Niimi first.” She noticed the hint of anger on Hijikata’s face as the order was broken, but she did as told and poured Niimi’s cup next.

“I must admit for being a pathetic wench she is quite easy on the eyes, wouldn’t you agree?” Niimi said while staring at her with a smirk, “I suppose that’s the only reason Serizawa-sama tolerates her presence.” The older guest laughed, “Well if she’s trouble then perhaps I can take her off your hands and teach her how to behave.” Hitomi froze in place when Niimi placed both his hands on her exposed collarbone, “while that’s a fine offer, I’d prefer to reprimand her myself.” His rough hands gripped her like a vice, silently asserting his authority. He let go and smirked, "after all, breaking them in is the fun part."

Hijikata let out a silent sigh of frustration, making sure that nobody heard it. He didn’t like where the conversation about Hitomi was going. They were talking about her as if she were a prostitute, and he certainly didn’t think she deserved that type of treatment. Even though she was Serizawa's servant, the girl was always going out of her way to help their unit. He had heard several stories about how her presence seemed to have a positive impact on all the captains. Someone that had a kind heart such as her did not belong in a place like this. Hijikata could easily see right through her emotionless facade and knew she was growing more uncomfortable by the minute, so he began to contemplate how to get her away from these animals for a short while.

As the men erupted in laughter at her expense she used both hands to hold onto the sake tokkuri in order to keep them from shaking. “ _Just breathe Hitomi_ ,” she thought to herself as she composed herself and moved to pour a cup for Kondou. He smiled at her and said, “Thank you Suzume-san.” She bowed her head politely and then moved to Hijikata. Instead of sake she poured him a cup of matcha, since he had told her he wasn’t going to have any alcohol that night. As she handed him the tea he nodded and said, “we should be ready to begin our meeting now. Since this is official Rōshigumi business I order you to wait outside till we call for your services.”  
  
Hitomi bowed and said politely, “As you wish I will take my leave.” She silently stood back up and moved to the door, closing it behind her as she exhaled a sigh of relief. She took a seat in the hallway outside the room as their meeting began, grateful that Hijikata had managed to let her leave for a brief while.  
  
“You’re trying to protect her, aren’t you,” Kondou-san whispered as he leaned in. “I’ve promised Sano I would,” Hijikata replied just as quietly. The men began their meeting and talked about their work around Kyoto, and how the Shogunate would like to see them arrest more rogue samurai to further make a name for themselves. They were pleased with the progress of the rasetsu, but also wanted them to start administering Kodou’s newly refined formula. Once business had been concluded, the older guest said, “Well then it’s now time to relax, I could use some more to drink.” Niimi smirked and then called out, “Wench, bring us more sake.”

Hitomi heard Niimi’s words and shuddered for a moment, but slid open the door and entered the room. She bowed once more before sitting in front of the two guests, filling their sake cups. Once she had set the sake back on the tray she felt the older man grasp her obi and pull her onto his lap. “You don’t mind, do you Serizawa,” He grinned while wrapping his thick arm around her waist, “It’s been quite a long time since I’ve been around one so young, and innocent.” Serizawa waved his fan and said, “please feel free to enjoy her company, just remember you can’t take her. I believe Niimi would be quite disappointed since we have an agreement.” Niimi gave a nod as a wicked smirk formed on his lips, “Indeed, however I also don’t mind if you enjoy playing with the little bird for now.”

The guest chuckled and breathed on her neck, inhaling the scent from her skin; she was frozen in place with shock. Just as her mind began to contemplate what was going on she felt a chubby hand graze the side of her ribcage to her breast, grasping it firmly. His other hand then wandered along her thigh before he took ahold of her behind. Hitomi's mouth grew dry and her face went pale; she desperately wanted to pull his hands off her body as they continued their perverted path. However Niimi’s gaze held her back, scaring her into just sitting.  
  
Hijikata set his empty cup of tea down, nearly breaking it to pieces as he watched what started to unfold. He had enough of this, and  after sharing a quick glance with Kondou he spoke up. “Actually if you don’t mind Toyotomi-san, I want her to bring me another cup of tea and then massage my shoulders,” he spoke coldly, "all this talk has made me stiff." Kondou smiled and agreed, “That’s a good idea Toshi! Suzume-san, I’d like you to massage my shoulders as well,”  
  
The older man nodded and said, “go right ahead, I have some company lined up for ourselves once we finish here. I’ve heard the women at Shimabara are quite are exceptionally pleasing.” He let go of Hitomi and said, “go along and serve your masters.”

Hitomi bowed her head to the guests and went to the hall attendant to retrieve more tea. She returned quickly and poured a cup for Hijikata, giving him a glance to show her relief that he called her away. She moved behind Hijikata and began to massage his shoulders gently, noticing the tightness in his muscles. It seemed as if he was just as tense as she was.  
  
“I never thought the assistant commander would ask for that wench’s company,” Niimi said while glaring at him, “Perhaps her change in clothing finally made her more appealing to you this evening? You are more of a devil than I thought Hijikata-san.” Niimi was angered by Hijikata’s request, knowing that he was purposely protecting the girl. But in a room full of others he couldn’t say anything else, not that it truly mattered. In the end he was going to get what he wanted anyway.

“Well I certainly can’t have _you_ massage my shoulders, right, Niimi?” he snorted in annoyance, “Although you definitely–”

“Toshi…,” Kondou interrupted him with an unusually sharp glare. Hijikata stopped speaking, somewhat thankful that Kondou stopped him from publicly insulting Serizawa’s vice commander. Instead started a silent, terse staring contest with Niimi from across the room.  
  
“How does that feel Hijikata-san,” Hitomi asked softly, “Are there any other spots you need worked on?”

“…A little more on to left,” he ordered Hitomi, “Yes… exactly there.” He whispered as quietly as possible, “You’re doing well. I’ll try to give you orders to keep you away from them, but remember that Serizawa has the last say.”

“Yes Sir,” she said aloud following his orders. She pushed harder into his shoulder muscles and whispered back, “I understand, Thank you Hijikata-san.” She was grateful to what he had done so far for her, and she was sure that Harada would be as well. As the night moved on she only had to continue serving sake in between tending to the needs of either Hijikata or Kondou.

As the guests were finally ready to leave late in the night Serizawa stood up and said, “Kondou-san, let’s walk our guests to the gate.” Hitomi bowed politely as they left, and she felt relieved that the Shogunate officials had finally gone. She began to clean up the cups as the staring match between Niimi and Hijikata came to a head.

Niimi finally snapped, “So now _you_ are protecting the little wench as well? What is it with your group and this girl?” He snarled and moved towards Hitomi, grabbing ahold of her arm and yanking her up to her feet. She let out a gasp as she lost her balance in the heavy kimono, falling backwards right into his chest. “You heard what Serizawa said earlier,” he snarled while pulling her into a chokehold, “So why do you insist on interfering? Is it just to irritate me Hijikata?”

“My reasons don’t concern you,” Hijikata growled while clenching his fists, “But I can’t allow you to continue to act inappropriately towards her. She's just a young girl after all!”

"She's  _property_ ," Niimi said as he grew even more irritated, “I can do with as I see fit...like this.” He released his arm and instantly forced her face down to the ground, landing right on top of the tray full of cups. She felt the broken bits of ceramic dig into her skin as she winced. Niimi purposely stepped on her back with his full weight,"She's not a woman; She's just a pathetic piece of Osaka trash." After making his point he turned around and walked out the door.

Hijikata quickly kneeled on the tatami mat next to the girl and asked calmly, “Suzume, can you sit up so I can take a look at you?” His eyes showed a mix of concern and guilt as she answered, “yes, I think so.” She winced as she slowly sat up, parts of broken cups and spilt sake falling to the floor. Her eyes darted down to the ground as he brushed away the broken ceramic and inspected her wounds.

Though there were many cuts, thankfully they were all quite shallow -- however the purplish bruises forming were likely to haunt her for a while. He could tell the girl was upset as she stared at the ground, he had seen that broken look on the faces of many before. “Hey, don’t listen to a single word he said about you; If anyone is the trash around here it's him.” Hijikata hesitated a short moment before slowly lifting her back up to her feet. “I'll clean up this mess later on," He said while offering his arm for support, "How about I take you back to Sano so he can take care of you."

She was barely holding herself together by a thread, but managed out the words, “Arigatou Hijikata-san.” Hitomi was surprised by Hijikata's actions and words; everyone called him the demon but he seemed to be the opposite. He gave her a small smile, then slowly helped lead her towards where Saitou and Harada would be waiting outside.   
  
“They’re coming” Saitou said while noticing them leaving the main hall. “Hijikata, Hitomi!” Sano called out as he left Saitou and swiftly moved over to them. He could tell by the look on her face that something had happened. As he grew closer he noticed the wet stains on her kimono, and the blood on her arms and hands.  “You’re injured, Hitomi…” Sano said as he pulled her into his arms carefully, “Saitou, could you get me some bandages, please?” The violet-haired warrior nodded and left.

Sano lowered his head and kissed her forehead as he softly took ahold of her shoulders to support her unsteady body. "I'm so sorry Hitomi, forgive me for not being able to protect you tonight," he whispered so that only she could hear. She didn't say anything, but she shook her head slowly to show she didn't blame him. She leaned her head into his chest, letting the entire weight of her body lean against him.  
  
Hijikata smirked slightly when he saw the two of them together, they certainly seemed to be closer than he realized. He had never seen Harada so worried before, so he must truly love this young woman. He quickly returned to his stoic self, coughing to gain their attention. “Harada I'm ordering you to look after her tonight, It’s Suzume-san’s choice if she prefers you to stay in her room or outside. Understood?”  
  
"Understood," he replied feeling thankful towards Hijikata for what he just did. Saitou then returned with the bandages and handed them to Harada. “I will leave you both and assist Hijikata-san,” he said quietly, “Be well, Suzume-san.” Sano nodded in thanks and took the bandages. 

After both of them left Sano focussed on Hitomi, whose hands seemed to be shaking nervously as she clung to his haori. ”Hey, you heard Hijikata right? I can stay with you all night,” Sano said softly, “We can go, or do whatever you want.”

“I need to get out of these clothes and take a bath,” she said quietly, “I feel so, so...disgusting.” Sano gently put his arm around her shoulder, “Sure, Let's head to the bathhouse then." Once they were far enough away he asked cautiously, "Do you feel like telling me what happened? If you don’t just say so; I can always talk to Hijikata instead.” He felt her body shift closer to his as she quietly went on to explain what happened throughout the night. Sano’s heart was filled with so much anger; not only had that bastard force her to endure being publicly groped by a shogunate official, but Niimi also hurt her once again. He desperately wanted to take matters into his own hands, but he knew that without orders he not only put himself at risk but the entire unit. For now he had to trust that Hijikata would push the Aizu leaders harder. He made a silent promise to himself, that whenever the order came he would personally take care of Niimi.

“Hitomi, I promise that he’ll pay for doing this to you,” Sano snarled like an angry wolf. He exhaled loudly to try and release his anger, still clenching his fists. “You just take your bath now, I’ll wait right here for you. Once you finish come to me and I’ll take a look at your injuries.”  
  
She had never heard Harada speak so coarsely before, He seemed so upset by everything that happened. “Arigatou,” she said softly, “I’ll be heading in now.” Hitomi walked to the bath and quickly stripped off the clothing that Niimi had forced her to wear, leaving it in a heap on the floor. She slowly stepped into the bath and covered her entire body in warm water. Normally this would be relaxing for her, but tonight she had stinging cuts and thoughts of those men on her mind.

The memories of what happened and the way they had touched her made her feel so tainted. How could she let Harada hold her with the scent of all those men on her?  It was such an awful feeling that overwhelmed her. She took the cloth and scrubbed at her skin repeatedly, but no matter how hard she did Hitomi couldn’t wash it all away. She closed her eyes, and every time she felt the urge to cry she submerged herself completely under the water.

It took a significant amount of time for Hitomi to calm herself and feel clean enough to leave. She finally stepped out of the water and wrapped herself up in a single towel tightly, realizing after that she had no other clothes to change into. Not wanting to put back on that awful kimono, instead she sheepishly walked back into the main room where Harada was waiting for her.

“I’m sorry that I took so long." Her long hair was soaked through hanging down past her knees, and her skin was still dew-covered from the steam as she approached him.  Hitomi knew Harada wouldn’t be the type to stare or take advantage of the situation, so she put aside her embarrassment of being nearly naked in front of him. She sat down on the bench next to him and looked down at her arms and hands. “Would you like to take care of these now?”

He nodded and sat down on the ground and started to wrap the bandages around her cuts. “Don’t apologize, but do you understand now why I was so worried earlier? A young girl alone in a room with powerful old men never ends well.” He knew that if Hijikata hadn’t been there that they’d have done much worse to her. “Right now I just want to abduct you, take you somewhere far away from all this and hide you somewhere that they can’t find you,” Sano admitted as he finished covering her wounds, “but we both know I can’t.”

“I know,” Hitomi said as leaned forward into him, setting her wet hair against his chest. “I’d love to run away from all this with you, but we shouldn’t have to. The Rōshigumi are your family, or rather,  _our_ family.” Unable to hold back, her eyes started to water. “I know things are not going to be easy, and I won’t lie and say that I’m not scared,” Hitomi said while clinging to his blue and white haori, “but I love you Sanosuke, and I know you’ll always do everything you can to protect me.”  She choked back a sob, “as long as you stay with me and promise to never let go, I...I can do this.”

Sano gently pulled her down into his arms, burying his head in her long hair. Once again Hitomi was showing how strong she truly was; she wasn’t a warrior like him, but she had the spirit of one. “I love you and would never let you go Hitomi; I promise I’ll stay with you as often as I can,” he said while trying to soothe her, “and If there is ever a moment I can’t, I’ll ask one of the others to look after you.”

“Now let’s get back to your room,” he said while releasing his hold on her and helping her up slowly, “you need to get some rest, it's been a long day.” Hitomi nodded and began to follow him, but then remembered something. “Um, Sanosuke I can’t really go out like this.” She clung to her towel with her face turning pink as he let out a small laugh, “Oh right, I suppose we do need to do something about that.” He took off his haori and put it on her. A small smile formed on her lips as she realized how long the sleeves and the length of the jacket were, It almost fit her like a dress. “Arigatou,” she said before they walked back to her room.

When they arrived at her quarters she slid open the door and walked inside, tugging gently on his hand to show she wanted him to come in rather than stay outside. As the door shut she quickly found some clean evening clothes and got dressed with her back towards him. When she finished she turned around to see Sano was facing the door, he really was a true gentleman. She walked across the mat in her tiny room and touched his shoulder, letting him know it was ok to turn back around.  
  
Sano could hear the rustling of fabric behind him as Hitomi changed. While he wished it was under different circumstances, he still smiled that she chose to have him stay inside her room. When he felt her hand on his shoulder he turned and followed Hitomi to her futon. He sat down next to it and removed his sword from his obi, placing it to his right. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna stay here and watch over you all night.”  
  
Hitomi knew she had nothing to worry about with him there, but it was comforting to hear him say it aloud. Instead of lying down she sat upright, pulling her blanket up around her shoulders. Hitomi shifted her body and rested her head against the side of his chest, just like she did that first night under the stars. “If you don’t mind I’d like stay like this for a little while,” she whispered as her head nuzzled against his broad chest.  
  
“You can stay here as long as you want Hime-sama,” He smiled while put his arm around her shoulders to keep her close. Sano waited till she fell soundly asleep before picking her up and moving her gently back to her futon. He placed the blanket on top of her, then brushed the stray hair away from her face. “Goodnight Hitomi,” He whispered before leaving a kiss on her lips, “please sleep well tonight.” He quietly moved back to his spot beside her, staring as the subtle movement of her chest as she breathed. After everything that happened, somehow she looked so peaceful lying there. He closed his eyes for a moment, promising to return that smile of hers that he loved so much to her lips once more.


	8. Flaring Tempers

Hitomi awoke to the sound of rain falling the next morning. It was so dark outside that she had no idea what time it was. She sat up slowly from her futon, ignoring her sore body. She looked over and smiled as she saw Sanosuke sprawled out on the floor, quietly sleeping asleep next to her. She wanted to wake him up with a kiss, but at the same time she did want to let him sleep. After all, he did watch over her all night.”

She was about to reach over and touch his hand when her door quickly flung open. “Hitomi you need to get up you’re late and you have…” Ryunosuke said while staring directly at her, then looking over, “HUH…Harada, what are you doing in Hitomi’s room?!”  
  
Sano opened his eyes slowly and blinked lazily a few times before realizing what was going on. “Ah, Ryunosuke…Hijikata ordered me to watch over her. I suppose you don’t know what happened yesterday?”

“N-no, and I’m not sure if I want to know! I’ll just leave you both alone now… however, Hitomi, you still should hurry and get up,” he repeated and awkwardly left the room.

Sano sat up now and smiled at Hitomi, greeting her with a small kiss. “Nobody came during the night, Sorry, I guess I must’ve fallen asleep this morning…”  
  
“Thank you for watching over me, I hope you got some sleep as well…though it looks like you did.” She giggled at his messy, disheveled hair and ran her tiny fingers through it like a comb, fixing it neatly and tying it back once more, “there, that’s better.”

She stood up and brushed her own hair, pulling it back as she said, “I wonder why Ibuki-kun was so worked up…it’s not my turn to make breakfast It’s…Oh..It’s Okita-san’s turn.”  
  
He stood up and gently pulled her into his body, wrapping his arms around her waist carefully in order to avoid her injuries. “Damn, I can’t keep you all to myself for the rest of the morning,” He said before kissing the nape of her neck, “I guess you need to stop him from drowning everything in soy sauce.”

The way he wrapped his arms around her from behind and greeted her with a surprise kiss was so nice, Hitomi could get quite used to this. She nodded and said with a wink, “yes, since you all have saved me multiple times, rescuing you from his terrible cooking is the least I could do.” She quickly changed as he waited outside, then they walked over to the kitchen together. As Hitomi entered the room she could already smell the scent of something burning. “Okita-san, would you like some help,” she asked while motioning to the unrecognizable food burnt to the skillet.

“What? I didn’t smell anything burning,” he said while quickly running over and moving it off the flame, “So much for the eggs…” Hitomi blinked and stared at the charcoal, wondering how that was supposed to resemble eggs. Souji sighed and said, “yeah, you can help Hitomi-chan…but if you tell anyone I burned breakfast I’d have to kill you….You too Sano…”

Hitomi laughed, “I won’t tell a soul Okita-san, you have my word. Now while you clean off those, _eggs_ , I’ll take over the cooking.” She quickly went to work steaming some rice then grabbed a clean pan to cook some eggs to place on top. Things felt normal, which was a huge relief to her. Once she finished cooking she put the food together on the trays and said, “They are all ready to be taken in now Okita-san.”

Souji grinned and said, “Good work Hitomi-chan, now let me and Sano carry them over while you bring the tea…you don’t look like you should be doing that kind of heavy work.” It was rare for him to offer such a thing, but at the same time she was grateful for his moment of kindness. She nodded and went to grab the pots of tea.

Souji leaned into Harada and whispered, “We need to talk, alone.” He lazily stood up and said, “Hurry up Hitomi-chan, we’re already late with breakfast.” She smiled and said, “coming!!”

They brought the trays over to the main hall where everyone was waiting, and Sano mumbled to Souji, “How do you define ‘alone?’ Just the two of us or all of the captains without Hitomi?”

“Just us, everyone already met this morning while you were with her,” He said while covering his mouth with the hot cup of tea.

Hitomi sat across from Harada since Heisuke and Shinpachi insisted that she sit next to them. She quietly ate her breakfast as Heisuke groaned about having to do afternoon rounds in the rain later. Nagakura told him to man up then stole some of Heisuke’s food. As the young captain pouted Hitomi whispered, “Don’t worry Heisuke, there is enough rice left over in the kitchen that I can make you some Onigiri later.” Heisuke grinned and said, “You’re the best Hitomi…unlike Shin.”

Hitomi glanced over at Hijikata who was eating his breakfast quietly, like he was deep in thought. Saitou and Kondou-san looked serious as well. She wondered if they were that way because of what happened the night before, or if it was something else more serious. She turned back to the others and started to clean up the food trays when Okita said, “Ne, Hitomi-chan don’t worry about that…It’s my turn. Sano, Saitou, why don’t you give me a hand instead.” Hitomi was once again surprised by this, but she wasn’t going to argue. “Ok, I’ll just stay here and finish my tea with the others then,” she smiled to Sanosuke.  

“That sounds good, I’ll be back soon Hitomi,” Sano smiled at her and ruffled her hair slightly when he walked past her. As soon as they were in the kitchen, he put down the trays he had been carrying and started cleaning the dishes while asking, “So, what exactly do you want to talk to me about?”

“Hijikata-san told us what happened last night, and about Niimi’s recent behavior,” Souji began, “It goes without saying that we’re all angry...Even I agree that girl doesn’t deserve to be treated the way she was.” He took a spoonful of leftover rice and ate it, “you know we’ll all look after her now that we know what’s going on.”

“Anyway what I wanted to tell you is that Serizawa ordered Niimi to ramp up the fury experiments in order to please the shogunate,” he explained, “Kondou and Hijikata insisted that Sannan help him, but mostly just to keep him in line. He also has the watch keeping an eye on him and that doctor, who seem to be secretly experimenting on their own in Kyoto.”

Saitou walked into the kitchen, bringing the last of the trays and setting them down. “The plan is to prove that Niimi is working outside the Rōshigumi. Then even Serizawa-sama cannot stop us from ordering Niimi to commit Seppuku for disobeying orders and betraying the unit,” Saitou said.

“Obviously if he runs we would get to do the work ourselves,” Souji said as he lazily leaned back onto the counter, “I would much rather watch you drive your spear through his gut and kill him slowly, but you know Hijikata and his desire to follow tradition...”

Saitou gave Souji a glare momentarily, but then returned his gaze towards Harada, “Until then there is not much we can do regarding Suzume-san, unfortunately it seems that what Niimi eluded to last night about her becoming his is in fact true.” Souji let out a slight sigh as he explained, “Hijikata learned that Niimi has a written agreement with Serizawa. It specifies that Hitomi will become his property once the work on the furies is completed.”

“A written agreement,” Sano growled as he clenched his hands, breaking the chopsticks he had been holding with a loud crack. “Those sick bastards. They can’t, I won’t let them, I’d kill them before they have the chance to...” Saitou quickly put a hand on his shoulder, “Enough. Calm yourself Harada-san. We have to leave this to Kondou-san, Hijikata-san and Sannan-san; they are the ones in charge of this mission and we only are supposed to act if they order us to.”

“…I knew you were going to say that.” Sano sighed heavily. “I’m guessing Hitomi has no clue about this, nor does Hijikata want her to.” He knew this truth would likely upset her after everything she went through the night before, so perhaps it was best to just keep this quiet for now.

“You’re a smart boy, Sano.” Souji patted his head, a teasing smile on his face. Sano was unamused at him making a joke out of a serious situtation, so he slapped his hand away. “Don’t treat me like a child Souji. I’m a very upset adult who is trying not to put my fist through the wall, so I suggest you don’t joke with me right now.”

Souji laughed and said, “If you want to put all that anger to good use why don’t you go train your unit instead of breaking innocent chopsticks.” Saitou nodded and said, “Sannan is with Niimi, and Serizawa will be out all today with the officials, so perhaps you should clear your mind and focus on your men for a bit. You wouldn’t want Suzume-san to see you upset, that may worry her further.”

“Saitou-san you’re not falling for her too are you,” Souji teased. Saitou tensed up and turned away, “I am simply making a suggestion to Harada-san. I just wish to be kind to her after everything that happened.” Saitou looked down at his sword longingly and muttered, “If it wasn’t for Suzume-san I wouldn’t have you.”

Souji let out a sigh, “Ryunosuke stop eavesdropping and just get in here. You can clean the dishes for me.” Ryunosuke growled and walked into the room, “why do I have to clean up, It’s you’re turn Okita.” Souji grinned, “because you listened in on a conversation that you should not have, so instead of killing you, I want you to take over my chores. Seems fair to me.” The boy grumbled and moved over to the sink, putting his hands in the water and beginning to scrub.

* * *

As Nagakura laid back on the mat and started to fall asleep Heisuke poured another cup of tea. “Hitomi can I ask you something? What's going on with you and Sano?" She smiled softly and said, "Well, we are together now...over a week ago he told me how he felt. I thought he was just flirting with me, but I'm glad that was wrong." She took a sip of her tea, her face still brimming with happiness. "I still can't quite believe it myself," Hitomi admitted, "But I know it's real, I can feel how much he loves me." She blushed as she finished, "He makes me feel, so, special."

“No, that’s great Hitomi,” Heisuke nodded, “you deserve someone like him.” Hitomi noticed the look on his face and she teased, “are you jealous?” Heisuke tensed up, “No, why would I be jealous of him? And I just think of you like a sister, nothing more! I was just worried because I want you to be happy Hitomi.” She smiled and gave him a kiss on his cheek, making him turn red. He pulled up his hand and rubbed it saying, “Hey, what was that for?!” She laughed, “just for being you Heisuke.” He looked at her really confused and said, “I don’t get it…women are so strange.”  
  
Sano sighed, but he decided that what Saitou and Souji suggested was a good idea. Maybe some hard training would allow him to clear his mind for a bit. He left the kitchen to gather his squad before stopping in the main hall. “Hey I need to go lead practice for my squad, I’ll be at the training grounds if you need me. I’ll See you later, okay?” Hitomi jumped up from her seat beside Heisuke and said, “Alright, but before you go…” She stretched herself onto her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss. “…there, now you are allowed to leave,” she giggled brightly. He flashed her a smile and patted her head.

Heisuke nodded at Harada as Hitomi’s back was turned, signaling that they’d watch over her. He kicked Shinpachi to wake him up from his nap and said, “Come on Shin, you can’t sleep all day.” Shinpachi growled and said, “Ow, that hurt, why you gotta be so mean Heisuke?” Hitomi shook her head and said, “Boys, play nice.” Both of them looked down like scolded children and said, “we will Hitomi.”

* * *

 

Since Ryunosuke had offered to take on her basic chores, or rather Shinpachi volunteered him to, Hitomi was free to do as she wanted for the day. Since it was raining outside a walk around town was out of the picture, so instead the stayed under the cover of the roof and worked on her festival Kimono. Much to Heisuke’s displeasure he ended up modeling it for her while she began to attach the sleeves. As the others walked past and snickered he would mutter under his breathe, and Shinpachi constantly harassed him saying things such as “stand up straight” and that “orange was his color.”

“Shut up Shin, I don’t see you helping Hitomi out,” He growled. Shinpachi laughed, “I’m too tall and muscular to model such a delicate Kimono, but you’re her height so it looks like you’re stuck.” Hitomi shook her head and said, “Heisuke, please stop moving, I don’t want to prick you with the needle…and that means you need to stop making fun of him too Shinpachi.” Heisuke stuck out his tongue at his friend just as he noticed Harada’s squad approaching. Hopefully he could save him from having to wear the girly kimono.

When Sano returned, he noticed Heisuke standing on the veranda in a kimono, and he couldn’t help but to quicken his pace. This was a rare sight he didn’t want to miss out on. “Ah, Heisuke, what are you doing there?” Heisuke pouted, “I’m being forced to model it for her.” Sano chuckled, sitting down next to them. “So that’s your festival kimono, Hitomi? It looks very nice.”

“Yes,” Hitomi said while continuing to sew, “Once I finish the sleeves I can try it on myself so you can see how it looks so far!” Heisuke continued to pout, “Will that be soon? I mean I need to go on my rounds in a bit, right Shin?” Shinpachi grinned, “Oh no we have evening rounds again, you still have a few hours before we need to leave. Be sure to take your time Hitomi, you want it to be perfect for the festival don’t you?” She nodded with a smile as Heisuke looked at Sanosuke, practically begging for him to get him out of the Kimono. “Just a bit longer Heisuke,” Hitomi said while getting halfway through the second sleeve.

“How was your practice Sano,” Shinpachi asked while holding in a laugh, “Bet it felt good to swing that ol’ spear around and spar a bit.” Turning towards Shinpachi, he replied, “Yeah, it felt good. I could clear my mind for two hours.” His best friend raised an eyebrow, mumbling quietly, “…Souji and Saitou must’ve told you, right? That’s why they wanted you to help this morning.”

“Yeah,” Sano answered, keeping his voice low. “But there’s nothing we can do for now, so I need to get rid of my anger some other way.” Shinpachi leaned in and said, “I know how you feel, I hate waiting but I know Hijikata has his reasons.” He snickered for a moment and said loudly, “Heisuke looking good.” As the other captain growled he turned back to Sano, “she seems to be doing ok at least, but I don’t know how long we can keep her in the dark…she’s going to catch on ya know.”  
  
“I know,” Sano whispered to Shinpachi, sighing. “she’s a smart woman after all.” He knew they were keeping the agreement quiet because Hijikata had her best intentions in mind, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel bad about keeping it a secret from her.

Hitomi finished her sewing and said, “All done…Ah Heisuke not so fast there are still pins in the fabric!” Heisuke winced and said, “Ow, Ow Ow, I thought you were done?” Hitomi scolded him, “I meant with the stitching…now look what you’ve gone and done.” She gently took the Kimono off him and pointed to the stitching that he had just pulled out. “Ahhhh, I’m sorry Hitomi,” Heisuke said feeling guilty, “I didn’t break it did I?” She shook her head and said, “No, I can fix it.” She turned the sleeve inside out and began to fix the hole he had made.

Sano turned back to Hitomi and Heisuke, putting on an amused smile. “You two seem to be having fun, huh?”

“Yeah, Yeah,” Heisuke growled before ignoring those two and instead watched Hitomi sew the sleeve. “I’m sorry, I really am,” he apologized again, “Where did you learn to sew? You’re really good…I’ve never seen anyone turn a pile of fabric into something like this before.” Hitomi smiled and said, “Well after my father died we lost our income, so my mother taught me how to sew…we would sit there every night, even when she was sick and make clothes for ourselves.” She finished the sleeve and cut the thread with her teeth, “I’m not as nearly as talented as with a needle as she was.”

She held up the Kimono and said, “Alright, I’ll be back in a moment, Shinpachi I’m confiscating your room for a bit!” She stepped inside and quickly changed started to change out of her existing clothes.  Hitomi first slid on the orange and yellow ombre kimono that she hand dyed, folding and tucking it appropriately. She then tied the green obi adorned with matching orange and yellow ribbons sewn into the shape of tiny flowers.

She stepped outside and looked at the three of them, “So It’s unfinished, but what do you think so far?” Heisuke turned red and his jaw dropped, “Uhhhhhh, Hitomi? That’s what it looks like on you?!” Shinpachi turned to Sanosuke and patted him on the shoulder, “…wow Sano…you did well.”

“Does that mean you like it,” she asked nervously, “Are the colors OK? I know I still need to work on the shape more.” Hitomi spun around once, the long obi trailing behind her. “The sleeves are still too long and it’s a bit bulky in some spots…and there’s something missing on the Obi…I’m not quite sure what yet.”

Shinpachi looked at his friend and said, “she thinks it looks bulky? But she looks like a /woman/ to me already without any other alterations.” Heisuke smacked him in the head and said, “BAKA, don’t talk about Hitomi like that…I mean…she’s Hitomi.” Heisuke looked at Harada, “Sano? Uh…you OK Sano?”  
  
Sanosuke’s eyes were fixated on Hitomi as she modeled it for them. Not only did she look beautiful in the Kimono, but he could see the happiness and excitement in her eyes over the approaching festival. When Heisuke grabbed his attention he let out a whistle, “You look great Hitomi, I can’t wait to go to the festival with you.” He really meant it, and he just hoped that Serizawa would let her go.

“Arigatou Sanosuke,” Hitomi said with a smile and a sparkle in her eyes, “I can’t wait either, It’s going to be so much fun.” His opinion was all she cared about, and since he liked it she grew even more excited. She turned around and went back inside to change back, careful to not catch anything or remove any of the pins she still had holding it together. After folding it carefully she walked outside and set the kimono in her sewing basket.  
  
“Don’t worry Heisuke, I’m done for the day,” she said relieving the look of fear in his eyes, “I swear I’ll make it up to you somehow.” Heisuke shook his head and said, “It’s fine Hitomi, I’ll help you again if you need it...Just promise me you’ll smack Sano and Shin when they make fun of me.”  
  
Hijikata came running out of his room with Yamazaki, making both Heisuke and Shinpachi jump up. “Hijikata-san what happened,” Shinpachi asked. “Souji’s injured, I need you all to go help Saitou and find out what’s going on,” Hijikata ordered in a hurried tone, “Suzume, come with us you can help Yamazaki with Souji.” Hitomi nodded and briefly grabbed Harada’s hand, “Please be careful, All of you.” She turned and ran out and followed them to where Souji and Saitou’s men had carried him.

Shinpachi, Harada, and Heisuke quickly threw on their Uniforms before running out into the rain and towards the city. “I wonder what happened,” Shinpachi said while sprinting through the muddy road, “He and Saitou were just on rounds, they didn’t have any other orders.” Heisuke nodded and said, “for Souji to get injured it must be someone strong. Should we split up to find Saitou?”

Shinpachi shook his head and said, “We don’t need to, I can hear them up ahead.” They followed the sound of clanking metal and were surprised to see Serizawa and Saitou, both with their swords drawn against a group of Ronin outside a bar.

* * *

Hitomi grimaced as she saw the large gash on Okita’s chest, There was blood everywhere, and he was unconscious. “Yamazaki-san, what should I do,” she asked while rolling up her sleeves. “The wound is deep, we need to clean and sterilize it immediately.” She nodded and grabbed clean cloths and water, while Yamazaki poured some sort of raw alcohol on his wound. Once he had finished she took the warm water and started to clean the wound, and finally they could see the damage once all the blood was cleaned up. “Quickly apply pressure there, I need you to stop the bleeding before I can stitch him up.” She nodded and did as he instructed, watching the blood soak through the cloth. “Please hold on Okita-san,” she whispered.

* * *

Harada’s spear shot forward, hitting the shoulder of one of the ronin leaving a deep wound. “Saitou,” he called out while joining his side, “What happened here?” The captain was breathing heavily, seeming to be exhausted after fighting off the group himself, “Harada, It’s the Chōshū. We need to protect the commander and finish this quickly.” Sano mumbled quietly "I don’t feel like protecting him, but if you say so…”

“I don’t need protection from these fools,” Serizawa growled while striking one of them down, “They had the audacity to attack when the Shogun officials were leaving, so make sure every single one of them ends up dead.” Heisuke and Shinpachi jumped into action quickly, following orders to slay the ronin. Bodies started to fall into the muddy street, but even with four captains and Serizawa they seemed to be outnumbered.

“It seems they sent a large group, they must be trying to start more trouble in Kyoto,” Saitou said while slaying a ronin headed towards Harada. “How did Souji get himself injured?” He asked as he killed a Chōshū soldier and defended himself against another. “There was a boy begging before the fight broke out,” he explained, “Souji ended up getting slashed by a Ronin while getting him to safety.” Saitou took out another Ronin with a single strike and lowered his voice, “Serizawa was cutting down anything in his path, and threatened to do so to our own men. I sent them back with Souji then stayed behind to defend the commander.” Sano sighed heavily, "I see, that makes sense then.”

Shinpachi and Heisuke worked together to take out several more, and the death toll was quickly rising, making the ronin's numbers finally begin to dwindle. Once the captains took the upper hand several moved to flee. “Make sure you go after those cowards,” Serizawa ordered while putting his sword back in it’s sheath, “I’m returning to headquarters. I want none of them left alive, Understand?”  
  
“Let’s split up and finish this up quickly, okay?” If they weren’t a threat to the shogunate and the Rōshigumi as a whole, Sano would just ignore his orders and let them run away. Saitou and Heisuke ran off in one direction, and Nagakura went with Harada after the others.

“I can’t believe Serizawa was threatening to cut down our own men for getting in the way,” he muttered, “What the hell has happened to him.” Nagakura jumped forward, slashing the chest of another ronin while they chased after the remaining three. “Sano, Behind you,” he yelled while dodging the sword of another taking a minor slash to the top of his hand. “Dammit you’re annoying the hell out of me now,” He growled while trying to push back the Ronin in front of him. Sano turned around quickly, slicing the tip of his spear across the man’s chest before pushing it past Shinpachi’s cheek, hitting his friend’s opponent hard, driving him back. “Thanks, Sano.”

They somehow managed to kill their enemies, and Sano let himself fall to the ground. “Shin… I don’t want to go back yet… Let’s stay here in the city for a while… okay?” Nagakura sat down on the ground next to his friend and said, “Yeah, sure…” He took out a cloth and wiped the blood off his sword before placing it back in its sheath. “What’s on your mind Sano,” he said while finally catching his breath from all the fighting and running, “Are you worried about this stuff with Hitomi, or is there more to it?”  
  
“Of course it has to do with her, she’s the center of my world,” Sano said annoyed while burying his face in his hands, “Dammit Shin, If things continue down this path I don’t know how much longer I can restrain myself. I can't let anything happen to her.” Nagakura hated seeing him like this. Sano was his best friend and instead of being happy about finding the woman he’s been looking for, instead he’s scared for her safety and filled with anger. “Have you forgotten why we came to Kyoto? To protect the ones we care about, and the ones who can’t protect themselves,” he said trying to console him, “So there is no way in hell we’re going to let anything bad happen to Hitomi, or to you.”

Nagakura continued, “I’m your friend, your brother, and your comrade Sano…Don’t think you have to do this alone. You can’t, It’ll eat you alive.” He patted him on the back and said, “Look you have the most beautiful, kindest woman you’ve ever met by your side.” He smiled, “You should be thinking about her smile, that pretty voice of hers, and the way she gets all happy and excited when you’re around her.”

Sano remained quiet, listening to Shinpachi’s energetic speech. He was right; he needed to focus on her rather than all the things Niimi may or may not try to do. “Thanks, Shin, I needed to hear that,” he exhaled while lifting up his head, “I’ll try not to let him get to me. We should head back before the others start worrying.”

Shinpachi smiled, feeling thankful that he was able to get through to him. “Yeah, Let’s get back so you can see your woman!”

* * *

Hitomi walked to Okita’s room after Kondou had him moved there to recover. Yamazaki was able to stitch the wound shut after she stopped the bleeding, but now they had to worry about his risk of infection, especially since he was out in the rain. Hitomi’s clothes were covered in his blood, however it didn’t phase her anymore. She heard from his men that he got injured when saving a young boy from the ronin when the fight broke out, only increasing her desire to help him get better. Okita may have been cold and harsh, but he still had a kind soul.

His body shifted and his face winced as if he was in pain, so she sat next to his futon and wrang out a cool cloth, wiping off the sweat from his face. She gently placed the cloth on his forehead like she had seen her mother do before, singing softly to soothe him.  
  
As soon as they arrived back at the headquarters, Sano hurried to Souji’s room first since he figured Hitomi would be there caring for him. Before he went to slide open the door, he noticed Kondou-san sitting there with a smile on his face. Harada titled his head and asked, “Is Hitomi in there?” The leader smiled as he stood up slowly, “She is, I’ll leave you alone for a little while.”

Sano lowered his head in thanks before entering the room quietly and wrapping his arms around Hitomi’s shoulders, “We’re back.”

Hitomi stopped singing the moment she felt the arms wrap around her, followed by Sano’s hushed voice. She reached up and took ahold of his hands and said, “I’m glad…Is everyone OK, you didn’t get injured did you?” She turned her head to look at him, hoping he would confirm that Okita was the only one that was hurt. “Well, there are a few minor scratches, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”  
  
“Yamazaki asked me to watch him till he returns with Dr. Matsumoto,” Hitomi explained, “At least he seems to be resting finally.” Sano’s small smirk moved into a frown, “Poor Souji. Saitou told me what happened. He’s always been pretty attached to kids, so I wasn’t surprised to hear he was injured helping the boy.”

“Hijikata-san probably wants us to report to him. Can I leave you alone a little longer?” He let go of her shoulders, but the warmth still lingered for a few more moments. “That’s fine, I understand it’s part of your duty after all,” she smiled, “When Yamazaki comes back I’ll go to my room and wait for you there.” She grabbed the cloth from Okita’s head and placed it back into the bowl of cold water once more as Sanosuke left.

* * *

Outside the servant's quarters Niimi stood beside a tree in the darkness, staring intensively at Hitomi’s room. The image of her wearing that kimono was burned into his mind, as was the feel of her soft skin. While the thoughts brought a wry smiled to his face, his plans were thwarted once again. While Hijikata and Kondou’s ‘do-good’ intentions had annoyed him greatly it was only a matter of time before she would belong to him anyway. His work on the furies was progressing, and soon enough he could sell the formula to the highest bidder; walking away with piles of money and a pretty, young trophy wife.

He took a seat outside her room while holding onto the floral scarf he had stolen from her laundry basket. He took in its faint scent of vanilla and lavender which she always smelled of. Everything was going according to plan so far, except for the part where he would completely break her spirit. Hitomi was far more resilient than he had anticipated, but he couldn’t give up. That was an integral part to his scheme since it would ensure that she would not have the strength to resist him later.

Perhaps he needed to take a different path, instead focusing on that infuriating captain who held onto her heart. Once Harada was out of the way then she would crumble, easily falling right into his hands. His lips curled into a devious grin as his mind began to formulate what he would do next.

* * *

After giving his report Hijikata sent him off, and Sano wandered through the compound a little aimlessly since he had a lot on his mind. He somehow ended up near Hitomi’s room, and much to his surprise there was someone sitting outside on the steps. Sano clenched his fists, but then he remembered what Shinpachi had told him. He walked over and took a seat to wait for Hitomi to return. They both sat there in silence, not even exchanging glares for some time, that was until Niimi opened his mouth, “What is it?”

“…what do you mean?” Sano answered tersely.

“What is it that makes you so defiant towards me?”

“You actually think I would tell you why,” Sano growled and turned away.

Niimi let out a hateful laugh. “I know why, you hate me because you finally learned that the wench will belong to me, and you can’t to do a damn thing about it.”

Sano’s fists clenched, but he kept calm and didn’t do anything. He just sat there trying to not give Niimi the satisfaction of upsetting him.

Niimi decided to twist the proverbial knife into him further, purposely trying to aggravate him. “I will break her down bit by bit till her soul is completely crushed. When I’m done with her she’ll be unable to fight, let alone smile after. I suppose for you it will be like experiencing someone slowly dying before your eyes.” He stared directly at the captain and lowered his voice, “I hope you’ll be around when I take her to my bed. I can picture it now, touching that soft skin wherever I please. Forcing her body beneath mine. I’m not the gentle type, so you’ll be able to hear her pathetic cries as I defile her body.” He grinned as he could see the anger building in Harada’s eyes and mocked, “yes, this seems a fitting punishment after you failed to heed my warnings, _Harada Sanosuke_. Don’t worry I’m not a complete monster; I’ll be sure to let you know if the little bird tastes as sweet as she looks.”

* * *

“Nagakura, You stay with Hitomi and take her to my room for the night. I doubt Niimi would think to look for her there,” Hijikata ordered, “Heisuke you go look for Sano; Saitou I want you to go check on her room and carefully question Niimi’s intentions while I go speak with Kondou-san.” Heisuke and Saitou nodded, each heading off in different directions as Hijikata turned around and walked away as well.  
  
Nagakura led Hitomi down the path to Hijikata’s room and smiled at her calmly,“You did the right thing letting us know Hitomi, be sure to come to any of us if he’s lurking like that.” After she left Okita’s side she noticed someone sitting outside her room and immediately returned to find Nagakura. She nodded and hoped they would be able to find Sanosuke soon, she didn’t want him to worry about her.  
  
They arrived at Hijikata’s room which she had never been in before. There were books, letters, and maps strewn about his desk, and his futon was folded up and looked like it hadn’t been slept on in days. “Ne, Hitomi these are a bit big, but they’ll do so you can change out of that kimono,” he said while handing her a set of the soldiers clothes. “Arigatou Shinpachi,” she said before he momentarily left the room. She changed into the traditional samurai garb and he was right, it was quite large on her. The pants completely covered her feet and dragged on the ground, her hands were hidden completely under the sleeves, and she had to wrap the belt around her waist twice.  
  
When Shinpachi came back in he looked at her and let out a small chuckle, “Ok maybe I should have borrowed Heisuke’s clothes instead.” They both took a seat on the mat and he joked, “All you need is a sword and you’d look like us Hitomi.” She laughed and said, “I think a sword would be too heavy for me, I’d fall over!” Nagakura sat there and continued to joke around with her to keep her focus on something else other than Niimi, he just hoped that his friend was staying out of trouble.

* * *

Sano was able to hold himself back for a considerable period of time, but as he continued to be taunted his willpower faded. If Niimi had a problem with the fact that he kept Hijikata informed of his antics, or that he protected and loved Hitomi then he should address it like a man. Instead he was playing psychological games and using a woman as leverage, threatening her in a way that he knew would hit Sano where it hurt. 

“Niimi, you _perverted_ , sick bastard,” Sano yelled in rage as he drew out his sword, “I’m going to cut you down and rip off your limbs with my bare hands. I will not let you continue to threaten her like that...This ends here!”

“Sano,” a calm voice cut in and a hand grasped his arm, “Sano, you cannot raise your sword against Serizawa's vice commander.” His blood was boiling hotter than the fires of hell as he snarled at the fellow captain, “Let me go, Saitou! You don’t understand, I have to end this...”

“I cannot let you threaten a superior officer,” Saitou said as he fastened his grip and forced him to lower his blade, “I’m not going to let go of you unless I can see that you’re not going to cause any further trouble.”

“The one who caused the trouble is-”

“I’m not going to listen to what you have to say Sano; you are to report to Hijikata-san’s room immediately since he wants to speak with you about your inappropriate behavior.”

Sano growled angrily, but when Saitou let go of him he turned around, sheathing his sword in his scabbard. “Don’t think you’ve won Niimi!” He stormed over to Hijikata’s room as ordered like an angry bull, flinging open the door and entering without knocking.  “What the hell is it you want to talk about Hijikata?”  
  
Hitomi was surprised when the door flung open and Harada walked in with an angry look on his face. Her eyes widened and she stood up quickly, nearly tripping over the long pants as she started to walk over to him. Nagakura suddenly stood up, blocking her path with his arm, “Hitomi wait in here -- Sano, _outside_.” She looked between the two and said, “...but Shinpachi” Nagakura shook his head and said, “Trust me this is for your own good, and his.” Hitomi hesitated, but stayed in the room as Nagakura dragged him outside, far enough away so that she wouldn’t be able to hear them.  
  
“What the Hell Sano?!? You look like you’re ready to kill someone,” he said in a concerned tone, “You need to calm down before I let you see her.”  
  
“…Where is Hijikata-san?”

“What do you mean?”

“Saitou told me he wanted to talk to me.” Sano still was very upset, and his voice expressed this.

Shinpachi looked at him awkwardly, “No, he – oh.” He sighed as he realized what must have happened. “Hijikata-san doesn’t want to talk to you. That was just Saitou’s way of telling you that you should come to his room without mentioning Hitomi…I guess Niimi was there with you?”

“Who else?”

“Damn Sano, what did he do this time to piss you off like this?” He stood there and watched as his friend said nothing, he just stood there with his eyes filled with unbridled rage. “Sano, don’t keep this inside...talk to me.”

His fist clenched around the hilt of his sword when as started, “He wants me to watch while he crushes her spirit, breaks her till there is nothing left. But that, that wasn’t enough...He had to cross the line and tell me in great detail how he was going to force himself on her.” Shinpachi clenched his fist but remained calm and said, “Sano, we’d never let that happen you need to…”

He continued ranting as his face turned red, ”I know I promised to try holding back, but I can't. I don’t give a fuck about what happens to me, I have to kill him before something else happens to her. I can’t let him do this!”

Shinpachi exhaled heavily and in one quick motion landed a punch straight in his best friends jaw. “Shut the hell up,” He said to a stunned Sano, “Sorry, but someone has to knock some damn sense back into you!”  
  
“First off I can’t let you do that till we get our orders, _that’s murder_ Sano,” he growled, “Don’t you see what he’s doing? He’s spouting all this crap to piss you off to the point where you make his job easy.” He said, “I don’t care if I have to knock you out cold every single time he says something…I’m not going to let you ruin the important things you have.”

“Hitomi has been remarkably strong so far, and you know damn well that she won’t give in to that bastard,” He lectured, “the only person who could break her is _you_ Sano!” Shinpachi was now losing his temper as well, “While you may not care about what happens to yourself, If you go off the deep end then she would give up and fall to pieces!” He grabbed ahold of Sano’s jacket, “Do you really want her to endure that kind of pain, let alone your friends who would have to be the ones to behead you for breaking the code?”

“Just step back and think for a while Sano, and stop being so damn selfish,” He said as he caught his breath and attempted to calm himself.

Sano grasped his aching jaw as he listened to what his best friend had to say, but his fist remained clenched. “Shin, you know I can’t be reasonable when it comes to something like this. I can’t calm down, Hell I can’t even think clearly right now because I’m so angry! So fine, you can try to knock me out Shin because I’m sure as hell not going to calm down until he’s six feet under.”

Shinpachi had enough, so he rammed his fist into Sano’s chest so he would stop talking such nonsensical crap. If he wasn’t going to settle down then he would keep hitting him until he did. “Come on are you just going to stand there and take it,” He said sharply while throwing another punch towards his jaw, “Or are you too weak to even throw a punch?”

Sano bit down on his lower lip hard; he had planned on just taking it and blacking out nicely in order to forget everything. But after Shinpachi challenged him Sano roughly grabbed the collar of Shinpachi’s vest and punched his jaw as hard as he could.

Shinpachi cringed as he felt the blow to his jaw, but it seemed like Sano was finally letting everything go. They traded several more intense blows against each other. Blood poured out from Shinpachi’s lip as he pushed back, then gave him a sharp punch to nose. “If you’re still standing after that one then I will have to knock your ass out with the next one!”

“What are you doing? _Stop it!_ Both of you stop _right now_!”

Shinpachi stepped away and looked over to see Hitomi standing there, staring at both of them. “Uh…Hitomi….I can expl-,” he stuttered out.

“NO!” She said harshly as she put her hands on her hips, “Not a word out of either of you!” Hitomi grabbed both their hands and silently pulled them back to Hijikata’s room. Once they entered she told them to sit and grabbed some supplies to treat them. She let out a sigh and said, “I hope you both feel better now. I won’t lecture either of you, but only on the condition that you both just sit here quietly and let me clean you up.”  Both men nodded slightly in agreement, feeling as if they were children being scolded by their mother.

Hitomi stood in front of Shinpachi first and wiped the blood from his mouth with a clean cloth. “Hold this here for now,” she instructed, “It should stop bleeding soon.” She then shifted over to Sanosuke and pinched the top of his nose to stop the stream of blood from pouring down his face, then took a cool cloth and wiped the blood away.  
  
Sano winced in pain when she cleaned off his face and touched the places where Shinpachi had hit him. He had asked for it with the way he acted, and it sure hurt like hell. It wasn't satisfying like beating up Niimi would’ve been, but surprisingly enough he was feeling a little better now. He glanced over at Shinpachi, silently thanking him for what he did.

“There, now are either of you hurt anywhere else?”  
  
“Shin hit me in the chest pretty good but It’s just a bruise.” Before Sano could say anything further Hitomi was running her hand along his ribcage gently. “I’m guessing that hurts, but nothing feels broken, so that’s a relief.” She turned back to Shinpachi and said, “make sure you sleep with a cool cloth on your jaw, that will keep the swelling down and help with the bruising.” He nodded and stood up, “I think I should go back to my room now, thanks Hitomi.”  He waved to Sano and walked out, closing the door behind him.

“Hijikata-san is staying in your room,” she explained, “So he told us to stay in here for the night. Since you didn't get any rest last night would you like to get some sleep, or do you want to talk for a while?”

“I’ve had enough talking for today,” Sano leaned back against the wall and let out a sigh of exhaustion, “But I’ll do whatever you like Hitomi.”  
  
“Whatever I like?” If he didn’t want to talk that was his choice, but she knew he needed rest. She didn’t want to reward his ridiculous behavior, but at the same time she felt the urge to do something to help him. Hitomi attempted to look angry as she made her decision. “I shouldn’t let you do this after what you and Shinpachi did to each other,” she said in an annoyed tone, “but since Hijikata-san doesn’t use blankets I...” She used all her strength to look at him sternly, but she still couldn’t hold back her shy nature as she finished, “...I need you to sleep next to me on the futon...only so I can stay warm.”  
  
He watched as her cheeks turned a familiar shade of pink; even when she was mad at him she still looked cute. He nodded his head solemnly then walked over to the futon and said, “Of course, come here and I’ll keep you warm.” Hitomi tried not to smile as she laid down on her side facing him, placing her head carefully on his chest. She took her right arm, resting it just above his seppuku scar.  She laid their for a few minutes, listening to his heart rate start to calm. Unable to act mad any longer she closed her eyes and quietly spoke, “I love you.”

Sano smiled gently and pulled her a little closer, wrapping his arm around her. “I love you too, I always will.” He closed his own eyes as his exhaustion set in, letting the sound of her breathing calm what ager was left inside. Hitomi meant the world to him, and he was reminded that night how close he was to losing her. Before sleep took him he held her a little tighter, feeling thankful that Saitou and Shin stopped him so he could share this moment with her.


	9. Lessons

It had been several days since that night when Harada and Nagakura had fought. They were able to keep Niimi away from her and Harada, but he still found other ways to make her life miserable. Hitomi was exhausted from all the additional chores she was given to do, but she still kept a smile on her face as she approached Kondou-san. “I’m ready for my lesson now Sensei,” she said taking a bow as she entered the Dojo wearing proper samurai garb.  
  
“Excellent, Today you’ll be working with me and Saitou,” He said with a grin. Hitomi had been doing a bit of training with Kondou-san in the afternoon while Sanosuke was out on rounds. He insisted it was because as a member of the unit she should be able to defend herself, but she knew it was because of Niimi’s antics. She still agreed to his idea, hoping that maybe if she knew something Sano would be able to worry about her a bit less.  
  
Saitou joined them with some sort of padded armor on his chest and Kondou had him move behind her. “Today I’ll teach you how to break free if you’re grabbed from behind.” He gave her detailed instructions and guided her step-by-step on how to free an arm and use that as a weapon. “So I want you to use all your strength and drive your elbow into Saitou’s chest,” he said, “This will catch your attacker off guard and give you time to run.” Hitomi nodded and broke free her right arm, then moved it back striking Saitou’s armor with moderate force.  
  
“That’s the correct form Hitomi, but do it for real,” Kondou instructed, “Don’t worry you won’t hurt Saitou.” She hesitated for a moment, but then did as he told her and repeated the attack, breaking free from Saitou as he stumbled back a step. Hitomi turned around and saw Saitou catching his breath. “I’m sorry Saitou!” He shook his head and said, “Do not apologize, this is training. In order for you to perfect the technique you must practice it repeatedly and use your full strength.”  
  
Kondou nodded, “Now, again Suzume-kun. This time I want you to widen your stance to give yourself more power.” After about a half hour Hitomi had practiced the move over and over again, and finally she was able to knock Saitou away completely, making his face slightly grimace. “I did it,” she said excitedly jumping up and down which made Kondou laugh.  
  
On his way back from his rounds, Sano heard a female voice in the training hall and decided to find out what Hitomi was doing. He quietly slid open the door and was surprised to see her being held by Saitou and breaking free of his firm grip. A small smile formed on his lips as he watched her practice hard, and eventually she got Saitou good. “Are you taking self-defense lessons, Hitomi?” he called out, “I’m impressed, you seem to be doing quite well.”  
  
”Sanosuke,” she said turning around with an excited tone, “Yes! Kondou-san is a great teacher, I’ve learned a lot in just a few days!”  
  
“Hitomi is an excellent student,” Kondou smiled proudly, “Since she’s staying in the compound I figured it was time to show her basic defense moves, without weapons of course…I forgot how fun it is teaching someone, it makes me miss the old days at the Dojo in Edo.”  
  
“The dojo, right…” Sano let out a nostalgic sigh. “It’s been awhile since we felt as carefree as back then.”  
  
“After that last round I think we should finish for the day,” Kondou said with a wink, “After all we don’t want to tire you out too much young lady.” Hitomi bowed to both of the men and said, “Arigatou Saitou-san, Kondou-san!” Hitomi left the Dojo and joined him outside with a big grin on her face, “I’m exhausted, how do you guys train for twice as long every day? No wonder you’re all so strong!” She grabbed ahold of his hand and asked, “How were your rounds today with Shinpachi?”  
  
“Once you build up your endurance it’s not as tough,” Harada said with a smirk, “Though It does depend on who leads practice, some captains are much tougher than the others.” He looked at Hitomi proudly and ruffled her hair. He never expected her to train with Kondou, but then again she seemed to be growing a bit more gutsy with each passing day. “It was rather calm in the city, no ronin this time. I don’t know how long it’ll stay like this, though…How about your day?”  
  
“Busy again, I was working before the sun came up till I went to meet Kondou-san,” she said with a slight sigh. On top of helping Yamazaki take care of Okita she had her normal chores, then the extra ones that it seemed Serizawa was assigning her out of the blue. It felt almost as if he was trying to exhaust her. “But at least the day went fast…I’m so happy that it’s Saitou’s turn for dinner, If I had to do that as well I might fall asleep while doing the dishes tonight,” she laughed.  
  
“At least he can cook in comparison to Souji, even if it means that maybe we have to deal with a lot of tofu,” he smirked. “Are you gonna eat with us, or did Serizawa order you to keep him company during dinner?”  
  
Hitomi looped her arm around his as she said, “No It’s Ibuki-kun’s turn tonight, so I can eat with you.” She left out the part about Ryunosuke offering to take her night because Serizawa and Niimi were having dinner together with the doctor again. She noticed how upset Harada would get whenever his name was mentioned, so she thought it was better this way.  Hitomi let a tiny yawn escape her mouth, which she quickly covered up with the palm of her hand.  
  
“You sound tired Hitomi, You’ve been working too hard again,” He said slightly concerned, "Why don't you go rest before dinner, I'll come wake you when it's time." He noticed the sudden increase in work she was assigned, and knew exactly who was to blame for it. He didn't want to see her run herself ragged, so when she shook her head as another yawn snuck out. He playfully picked her up in his arms.  
  
"Sanosuke, hey, put me down," she said in a surprised tone. He shook his head and said, "I'll set you down once I get you to your futon." Sanosuke teased her slightly, "and if you refuse to rest, then I'm just going to have to hold you down until you fall asleep." Hitomi's face turned bright red, and she finally gave in and said she would take a nap. Feeling releived after her delivered her to his room he headed off to the bath to clean up. 

* * *

Hitomi walked into the main hall with Harada just as Saitou was starting to set out dinner. She was pleased to see Okita had decided to join them, since that meant he felt like moving around again. They took a seat across from Heisuke and Shinpachi and she waved at them. She looked down at her tray to see toasted sesame tofu over rice, tofu miso soup, and a side of stir fried veggies with tofu. “Oh look, Tofu,” Heisuke said in a mumble, “…my favorite…”

“Oi Hitomi,” Shinpachi said with a grin, “I heard ya did a number on Saitou today and even made him bruise.” Hitomi blinked and said, “I did?! But he said I couldn’t hurt him with all that padded armor.”  Heisuke lightly smacked Shin’s arm and said, “Don’t worry, A bruise is nothing Hitomi. Besides It’s a good thing, that means you did it right.” Shin nodded and said, “Yup, and if you keep it up maybe you can take Heisuke’s place as the eighth division captain.”  
  
“What did you say? Ohhhhhhh that was not nice Shinpachi” Heisuke exclaimed before starting to sulk. “Heisuke-kun, I would never do that..I think I’ll stick to slaying laundry piles,” she giggled after finishing her miso. “I’ve watched her in action, and she is quite skilled at bringing dirty laundry to it’s knees,” Sano agreed chuckling. 

She giggled at their antics during the boisterous dinner, happy that she had this rare chance to sit together with them. She would have to be sure to thank Ryunosuke later. When Saitou began to collect the trays Yamazaki unexpectedly ran into the room with a worried look on his face. “Hijikata-san, two of _them_ escaped,” he said out of breathe, “I don’t know how, but we need to do something, and quickly.”

“Dammit, I send Sannan out on an errand and this happens? He really can't be left alone,” Hijikata mumbled before he jumped up from his seat. “I want groups of no less than three going out after them, I don’t care how you split up. We need to make sure they don’t escape the compound.”

“Shin, Heisuke, we’re going together. Hey Saitou, how has Ryunosuke been doing lately?” he said to the younger man who replied, “He’s been doing well. Why are you asking?” Sano turned back to Hitomi and put his hands on her shoulders. “Your self-defense won’t be enough against these guys, so I want you to go and stay with Ryunosuke. He should be able to protect himself and you if it comes to that.”  
  
“Since Saitou, Hijikata-san and Souji are gonna head in that direction please ask them to escort you there,” Sano said while standing up and nodding to his two friends that he was ready to leave.  
  
“I can do that,” she nodded confidently before walking over to Saitou, Hijikata, and Souji. It was as if they already knew what she was going to ask as Saitou spoke, “Stay with us for now Suzume-san, And please keep your eyes open, just like we taught you.” Hitomi nodded and followed them out.  
  
“Souji I want you to let us handle this one, Yamazaki will take your place,” Hijikata instructed, “You’re still too injured to lift that sword.” Okita scoffed, “I’m fine Hijikata. I didn’t come along to babysit, I came to fight.” Hitomi watched as the two argued for a bit, until eventually Hijikata conceded and ordered Yamazaki to stay with her after they found Ryunosuke. He suggested going to the dojo or one of the larger barracks areas where they would be indoors, but not in a space too small to fight if necessary.  
  
As they approached the kitchen and Ryunosuke came running up to them, “One of them is back by the well!” Hijikata, Okita, and Saitou ran off towards the direction of the commotion while Ryunosuke said to them, “Hitomi we should go hide somewhere since those things are on the loose...Maybe we should go to the kitchen since it’s close by...”  
  
“No, we should go to the weapons storage shed,” Yamazaki said in a flat tone. “But Isn’t that near where Niimi keeps those things?!” Ryunosuke said in an agitated tone. Yamazaki nodded, “They aren’t going to go back there, so you both should be safe there.” Ryunosuke clenched his fist and said, “No that’s just stupid.” As they started to argue with each other Hitomi spoke up, “Please…stop arguing, let’s just follow Hijikata-san’s suggestion and…” Neither of them were listening to her, and that was when things went from bad to worse. “What are you doing out here Hitomi? It’s not safe for you to be running around,” said Niimi as he put both his hands on her shoulders, “You need to stay inside and be protected, you should come with me while those two go and help the others.”  
  
“I apologize Niimi-san,” she said while pulling away and stepping closer to Ryunosuke, “but I have already received orders from Hijikata-san’s to return to the Dojo and wait there.”  
  
“Have you forgotten that I outrank Hijikata,” he said gruffly to the three of them, “…so when I give an order you must follow it. And right now I order you to come with me Hitomi.” She froze in place as a smug grin formed on his lips. If only those two had just listened they wouldn’t be in this situation.  
  
Ryunosuke’s eyes narrowed at Niimi as he stepped in front of Hitomi. After everything that happened he was going to anything he could to prevent Niimi from walking away with her. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, grasping it firmly so that he was ready to fight if he continued to press them further. “Ibuki, we need to follow Nimi-san’s orders,” Yamazaki said as he extended his hand to prevent him from drawing his sword. “Who cares? I’m not gonna let him take her,” He grumbled in a low voice while trying to free himself. Niimi already grabbed ahold of her and started pulling her away. Yamazaki firmly took ahold of his wrists and pulled him back, “Be rational, Ibuki, we can’t do anything without orders.” Ryunosuke grew angry as he tried to unsuccessfully free himself. “It’s the wrong time to be rational! If she gets hurt you’re gonna be the one to explain this to Sano not me!!!” This time he wanted to fight and help her, but someone who was supposed to help protect her too just let her be dragged away by Niimi.

* * *

Hitomi knew this was the exact opposite of what Sanosuke and the others wanted, let alone herself. After he took her down the opposite direction that everyone had rushed off too she decided to speak up. “Niimi-san I understand that your orders outrank Hijikata-san, but if they don’t know where I’m at they will…”

“What? Worry about you? Right now you’re just a wench that belongs to Serizawa-san, nothing more,” he said while pulling her roughly towards his quarters, “So you must do as I say or else I will have to reprimand you.” Hitomi wasn’t quite sure where it came from, but she planted her feet into the ground and pulled her arm away yelling, “No, I refuse to go anywhere with you Niimi!” He reached over and grabbed ahold of her hair, yanking her towards his body. Niimi pulled her into a headlock as he snarled, “How _dare_ you say no to me.”

Her heart was racing but she wasn’t going to stand there and let him do this. She remembered what Kondou-san had taught her; staying calm she pushed her fingers in between her neck and his arm to loosen his grip. She freed her left arm and drove it back with as much force as she could muster as a “Hurk” sound left Niimi’s mouth.   _“Run Hitomi, Run”_ she told herself while taking off back towards the main compound. Hitomi could hear his footsteps approaching quickly from behind, but she refused to look back. Instead she darted up the path where three people were standing ahead, refusing to slow down until she reached them.

Sano twirled quickly when he heard footsteps approaching, and he growled when he noticed Hitomi being closely followed by Niimi. He quickly pulled her behind himself protectively once she was close enough asking, “You okay, Hitomi?!”  
  
“Yes I’m fine now,” she said in a relieved tone while catching her breath. Once Niimi saw her behind Sanosuke and in the company of two others he stopped dead in his tracks. He let out a fake laugh and said, “Well then, you refuse the safety of my sword and my orders only to turn around and run to him?”  
  
Hitomi instinctively grabbed onto the back of Sanosuke's jacket as Niimi stared directly at her, “Your sudden burst of confidence is surprising, however I’ll make sure that you learn an important lesson wench; to never resist me again.” He turned around and said, “I have other matters to attend to, so I suppose you win this round Harada.”  
  
Shinpachi moved next to Sanosuke and put his hand on his friend's’ shoulder, “She’s safe and here with us, let him go for now…we have to go kill those things quickly.” Sano felt Shinpachi’s hand on his shoulder and immediately, a part of the tension left his muscles. “Yeah, you’re right.” Heisuke looked at Hitomi and smiled, “I hope you ate enough of Saitou’s tofu, you’re gonna need to run hard and keep up with us OK?” Hitomi nodded assuringly and said, “I can do that, I’m ready!”

They hurried through the compound in order to find the furies, when suddenly Heisuke stood still. “Wait. Do you hear that?” Hitomi felt her heart rate grow faster as the laughter erupted, followed by the cries of a soldier. The group rushed over to the general barracks, and there was one of those men with white hair with his sword driven through a soldier's throat. “That’s one of Saitou’s men,” Heisuke said while drawing his sword.  
  
The sight was frightening as the creature started to lick the blood off it’s fingers. The look of shock on the soldier's face was enough to make bile rise in Hitomi’s throat before she turned away.  
  
“Heisuke, stay close to Hitomi and be our backup,” Shinpachi said while slowly approaching with his sword drawn, “Sano let’s take this ‘em down before he can kill anyone else.” The creature finally began to move once it satisfied itself with enough blood, heading directly towards Harada.

Sano was barely able to dodge the creature’s first strike, noticing it was moving much faster than in previous battles. “Whoa! He’s stronger than the ones from before! Watch out, Shin!” He shot forward his spear and threw the creature back, but it moved forward again immediately.  
  
Just as Sanosuke said watch out, the fury had already focussed its attention on Shinpachi. Even though he was able to deflect the blow with his sword, he went flying back into the barracks. His body hit the wall with a ‘thud’ before he fell to the ground. “SHIT, Sano He’s out cold,” Heisuke said worriedly while moving in front of Hitomi, “We gotta get that thing out of here, Hitomi can you try to get Shin to wake up?” She nodded and waited till Heisuke grabbed the attention of the fury.  
  
Hitomi kept her back to the wall so that she could see if anything would approach them, then carefully inspected Shinpachi. There was a small wound on the back of his head, and she knew the smell of blood drew those creatures. She quickly removed his green bandana and held it over the wound tightly, hoping to cover the scent. “Come on Shinpachi, Please wake up,” she said while lightly patting his cheek with her free hand, “As Heisuke would say, this is no time for a nap!”  
  
The fury’s sword left a cut on Sano’s cheek and he quickly wiped off the blood. “Heisuke, we’re gonna attack him from two sides, and we need to keep him away from Shin!” Heisuke nodded in agreement, although this was exactly where Shinpachi was needed. They could only hope that it would work out the way they needed it to.  
  
Heisuke moved into position and said, “I have an idea Sano, I need you to get ready.” Heisuke took his sword and sliced open the palm of his hand, wincing for a moment before letting the blood drop onto the ground. “Hey you, you hungry? Come at me!” he yelled while readying his blade. The Fury took the bait and went straight for Heisuke, and he drove his sword into the chest of the fury as it clawed at his arm. “Now Sano!”  
  
“BAKA,” Sano growled as he immediately drove his spear into the back of the fury and hitting its heart. Heisuke kicked its body off himself and stood up. He knew Harada was going to lecture him, but he didn’t regret what he just did. “What, I’m stupid that I trusted you,” Heisuke said with a half grin, “We got him didn’t we?” He sheathed his sword and looked down at his bleeding hand and now arm, “Sano those things are crazy, I knew it was a risk but with her around and Shin still down, well it made sense.”

“You’re not stupid for trusting me, but what would you have done if I hadn’t hit his heart?” Heisuke frowned and said, “I know, but…you never miss Sano.” Sano shook his head and turned back to where Hitomi and Shinpachi were. It seemed his friend was still knocked out so he headed over there with Heisuke.

“Why are you so heavy Shinpachi,” she muttered while trying to pull him up off the ground. Sano put his hand on her shoulder and said, “How about you let me carry Shin back to his room while you go grab some bandages?” Heisuke and Sano both lifted Shinpachi, each moving under his shoulder to help carry him back.

Hitomi nodded and said, “Ok, I’ll meet you back there.” She ran over towards where Yamazaki stored all the medical supplies and gathered some bandages and antiseptic. “Hitomi…Hitomi you’re OK,” Ryunosuke said out of breathe as he appeared behind her, “I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to find you since I got away from Yamazki.”

Hitomi smiled and replied, “Don’t worry Ibuki-kun, I’m fine. Why don’t you come with me? Shinpachi and Heisuke are both hurt.” He nodded and followed her to Shinpachi’s room. “I’m back,” she said while quickly sitting down and opening the medkit. She cleaned Shinpachi’s wound and wrapped the bandages around his head. Once they laid him down she placed a cool cloth on his head and moved over to Heisuke. He winced as she cleansed the wound, and watched quietly while she wrapped up his arm and hand with bandages. “Thanks Hitomi,” he said sheepishly. She smiled gently at him and said, “You’re welcome, just please don’t be so careless with your life. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost any of you.” He nodded his head slightly and said, “I know, I won’t do that ever again Hitomi.”

Ryunosuke sat there sulking next to Harada, and leaned over whispering, “I’m...I’m sorry Harada.” He looked down and continued, “I wanted to stop him, but Yamazaki wouldn’t let me; he said we had to follow Niimi’s orders.” He shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how she got away but it’s my fault.” He closed his eyes and waited for Sano to hit him for not taking care of Hitomi, knowing full well he actually deserved it this time.  
  
Sano leaned back on the wall, staring up at the ceiling, and shook his head. “No, it’s not your fault, Ryunosuke. Yamazaki was right. Niimi’s orders are of higher importance to her than Hijikata-san’s. If you had resisted, it would’ve ended bad for all of you.” He patted him on the shoulder in encouragement, “I should thank you, after all you made a strong effort to help her, which you would have never done before. You’ve come a long way Ryunosuke, so don’t beat yourself up over this.”  
  
Ryunosuke hesitated, but lowered his head in agreement. “…yeah. OK.”  
  
Shinpachi let out a groan and mumbled, “Why do I have a hangover…I didn’t drink yet today.” Hitomi quickly moved back over to Shinpachi and smiled, “You don’t have a hangover Shinpachi, but you did take a blow to the head.” He was about to sit up when she reached over and pushed him back down, “Hey, you shouldn’t move! You’ll just make yourself dizzy and feel worse.”   
  
“Shin, listen to nurse Hitomi and just rest,” Heisuke said while standing up, “Sano, we should go find Hijikata-san and the others.”   
  
“Yeah, Shin. Heisuke’s right; you need to rest for now," Harada agreed. Ryunosuke looked over at Harada and volunteered, “I can stay here. I know you said not to worry about it, but I won’t make the same mistake again.” Sano got up and nodded slightly at Ryunosuke.

 Sanosuke and Heisuke left Shinpachi’s room and luckily, it didn’t take them long to find Hijikata.  “Did you kill the other one?” the Vice Captain asked immediately. “If you killed one of them, then yes, we killed ‘the other one,’” Sano replied, shrugging. “More importantly, what are you gonna do about Niimi?” He had broken orders yet again, working on the furies while Sannan was gone, and once again they just happened to escape.  
  
Hijikata sighed, “Actually we planned to address that, but when we returned to his quarters it looked like he cleared out his research and took all the vials of formula with him.” Hijikata knew that Niimi’s escape wouldn’t please Harada at all. At least when he was under Sannan’s watch he was kept in line, but now who knew what he would do. “Kondou is talking to Serizawa now, and I expect he’ll have to agree we can go after him,” Hijikata explained, “but the question is where has he disappeared to. I sent Saitou to go check out the home that the doctor has been staying to see if he’s there.”  
  
“I’m sending out the watch as well to assist in locating him. Until we have a set location to raid we need to sit tight. OK Sano?”  
  
Heisuke had an irritated look on his face as he said, “I don’t like waiting Hijikata-san. Niimi is a big threat, tonight we were lucky Hitomi got away from him and found us; otherwise she would have been with him when he escaped.” He looked at Hijikata then Sanosuke, “Orders be dammed, I think Sano will agree we should all be out there looking for him right now before he can do anything else!”  
  
“Heisuke, if you defy my orders I’ll put you under house arrest,” He said sternly to the young captain, “That goes for you too Sano, or anyone else in the unit.” Hijikata stood tall and said, “If we send out a search party he’ll only go into deeper hiding. This is what the watch is for, they’ll locate Niimi and notify us immediately.” He looked at Sanosuke and said, “Then, and only then is when you can take out your rage. Understood?”  
  
Heisuke gripped his fist, but nodded his head saying, “yeah, I understand.”  
  
“I agree with Heisuke, but… I understand as well where you are coming from Hijikata-san.” Sano lowered his head; a gesture he rarely showed. “Acting without thinking will only cause further problems. But I assume that we’ll continue doing our rounds in town just the way we used to, huh?”  
  
Hijikata looked at Sano and said, “yes you’ll all still be doing rounds as usual to keep up appearances. He’s smart, and knowing our routes and schedules he’s likely to avoid those areas.” He took his hand and patted Harada on the shoulder, “I know it will be hard. I’ll make sure your rounds are with Saitou, just as insurance.” Niimi seemed focus on two people; Sano and Hitomi. At least with someone as trustworthy as Saitou, both Hijikata and Harada could rely on him to keep trouble at bay.  
  
“Fine by me, as long as it doesn’t bother Saitou.” Even when he had completely different things in his mind, Sano was still worried about his friends.

“You both look like you need some rest, I suggest you get it,” Hijikata said turning around and heading back to his own room. Heisuke frowned and said, “I don’t think I can sleep now. I’m going to the kitchen to get some sake. You coming Sano, If not I understand.” Turning around to Heisuke, he said, “I’m coming. But I think Shinpachi would want to drink some too. Do you want to drink with us in his room, or alone in the kitchen?” Heisuke smiled slightly and said, “You know the answer to that.” They headed to the kitchen and grabbed an entire cask of Sake, completely forgoing the cups and headed back to Shinpachi’s room.  
  
Ryunosuke was outside the room and saw them approaching. Heisuke smirked, “want to drink with us?” The boy shook his head and said, “No, I don’t feel like it. I think I’m going back to my room.” He waved and walked off by himself, his shoulders still slinking. Heisuke sighed and said, “Ryunosuke is really not cut out for this life. Is he still beating himself up over the Yamazaki thing?” Sano sighed, “I guess he is, he won’t believe me that it’s not his fault.” Heisuke shrugged, “Oh well, Let’s go inside.” He opened the door and walked in, seeing Hitomi next to Shinpachi. “Oy, Oy, It’s time for some Sake! Get your ass up Shin!”  
  
Hitomi looked at both of them and blinked, “Sake? But Shinpachi is…”  
  
“Sake? Oh yes! That will calm my aching head,” he said sitting up from his futon where he was resting, “Nurse Hitomi, will you pass me my medicine?” Hitomi looked at Shinpachi, then back at the other two, “I guess a little sake won’t hurt? Maybe It will make him sleep?”  
  
“That’s the spirit Hitomi,” Heisuke said with a big grin, “Sake sure will help you sleep, should we offer her some too Sano?” Sano let out a laugh, “I think Hitomi should decide this for herself. If you want to drink some, you can.”  
  
HItomi giggled, “Maybe I’ll try a little so then I can understand why you guys enjoy it so much.” Heisuke smiled and said, “Don’t worry Hitomi, If you get sick I’m sure Sano will take care of you.” Hitomi looked at him and said, “Sick? I thought you only got sick when you have too much sake?” Shinpachi laughed, “…or if your name is Toudou Heisuke.” As the two began to argue Hitomi let out a laugh and leaned on Sano’s shoulder, “will those two ever stop fighting?” She took ahold of his hand as they tugged on the cask of Sake back and forth, almost spilling it’s contents. She was about to say something to them when the door suddenly was thrown open.  
  
Ryunosuke ran into the room with a look of horror on his his face. Everyone turned to look at him as he said, “Hitomi’s room, It’s been...I think it was Niimi…” Within seconds Hitomi stood up and ran out of Shinpachi’s room heading straight in the direction of her own. Everyone followed behind, but the sounds of their voices calling to her were not reaching her ears. When she arrived Hitomi saw the door was destroyed, and a dead brown sparrow was pinned to the remnants of the door. It’s wings were clipped off and pinned above it’s body. The sight made her stomach feel sick, Is this what he meant that he would teach her a lesson for disobeying him?  
  
Hitomi hesitated for a moment before finding the strength to walk inside. The room was completely disheveled and the few personal objects she owned were broken and strewn about. Those items were meaningless, but as she turned to look in the direction of her Festival Kimono her face went pale as snow. The garment that she had spent so many painstaking hours working on was ripped to shreds. She slowly walked towards it and gripped several pieces of fabric in her hand. Hitomi choked back the tears welling in her eyes, and tried to stop her hands from shaking. She was trying so hard to be brave and not cry, but Hitomi’s head began to rapidly spin. Her eyes closed and her body went limp as she fainted from the stress.  
  
“Hitomi!” Sano called out startled as he quickly moved to catch her before she hit the floor. He was in a daze himself at what Niimi had done. Not only did he threaten her by pinning the dead bird to her door, but he also destroyed her precious festival kimono. A mix of rage and sadness welled up in his heart when he pressed her to his chest tightly. “Ryunosuke…” he said in a low growl, “Go tell Hijikata and Kondou about this. Shin, Heisuke, can you guard my room tonight? In order to keep Niimi away if he dares to come back...and to stop me from doing something, _irrational_.” His best friends looked at each other seriously, then nodded in agreement. Sanosuke lifted Hitomi gently in his arms and carried her back to his room while the other two followed behind him silently.

He set her down on his futon carefully, then placed a blanket over her tiny body. “Thanks, I’ll make it up to you later,” Sanosuke said while turning his attention temporarily to his friends. “You don’t need to make anything up to us, just take good care of her,” Shinpachi nodded before turning and heading outside. Heisuke waited a moment and said, “Um, Sano? I feel awful for Hitomi. She worked so hard on that kimono…I don’t like seeing her so sad. If I can do anything to cheer her up, let me know OK?” He let out a heavy sigh before he headed outside of the room and slid the door shut.

Later on Hijikata stopped by to talk to Sano personally, explaining that Niimi’s capture would be the Roshigumi’s priority. Kondou also said he will see to it that Hitomi’s room has been cleaned up and restored before morning. He also reassured Sano that he would let him take care of Niimi, but until then he wanted Hitomi to stay in the compound and be with at least one captain at all times. He left soon after saying they should have more information soon, and to stay strong.

* * *

Hitomi wasn’t sure how long she was out, but she woke up in Sanosuke’s dimly lit room. She turned her head and saw him sitting there, still awake. She slowly reached for his hand, “Sanosuke? I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” Hitomi remembered her head spinning, then she must have passed out. The last thing she wanted to do was make them worry even more about her, but by now she recognized that look on his face. It was filled with anger and pain; why, why couldn’t he look at her with that happy glint in his eyes like before? Had Niimi taken that away from him? Hitomi crawled out from under the blanket and sat on his lap, burying her face into his chest as she clung to his jacket.  
  
“I must be such a pain to deal with,” she said starting to cry, “…all  I seem to do is get into trouble and make all of you worry about me. I hate that I’m making you all look so angry, even if it’s directed at Niimi, it’s still all because of me. I…I want to make you all happy, especially you…Sanosuke.” Hitomi let go of his jacket and let her arms fall down to her side. Now she was sobbing, unable to hold anything back anymore.   
  
Sano started combing her hair unconsciously and he shook his head, “It’s fine, Hitomi. We want you to be happy too, that’s why we react the way we do." He gripped her a little tighter as he said, "I don’t want to see you suffer like this, but don't try to put on a brave face for me or anyone else. It’s okay if you’re sad or angry, and you can let it out.”  
  
Hitomi nodded her head then slowly looked up at him, “but what about you? I know you have Heisuke and Shinpachi, but please don’t hold back around me either.” She knew he was holding back as well, and it wasn’t fair if the support was only one sided. “I love you, so will you let me help you as well?”  

"There you go, always worrying about everyone else and not yourself," He said while he gazed straight into her reddened eyes, “I made a promise to Hijikata to hold back for now, but I'll let it all out soon. Besides, It's _my_ job to be strong for _you_ Hitomi." He ran his finger against her soft cheek to wipe away a small tear, "knowing that you’re safe helps me to feel better. So if you want to help me, then please make sure that you always stay with me or one of the other captains until this is over.”  
  
“Yes, I can do that for you," Hitomi said with a reassuring look in her eyes. He smiled at her as he gently lifted her chin higher, then kissed her softly. He sensed the relief in her body, and held his lips against hers till he felt the same. When he finally released he saw a small sparkle return to her eyes. "There, now those are the eyes that I fell in love with." He watched as her cheeks flushed like always, then she buried her head into his chest as he smirked quietly. He pulled her close and grasped the back of her kimono. Without saying the words he showed her that she is safe in his arms, and that he would _never_ let her go.


	10. A Festival to Remember

Nearly a week had passed and there had been no sign of Niimi anywhere in Kyoto. The Watch had been keeping an eye on the black market, but the trail was still cold. To make matters worse the doctor’s residence had been set on fire, and there was nothing left behind. They were unable to find a body, so they had wondered if he had faked his death. Hijikata insisted that it was only a matter of time now before Niimi would show his face again; but for now everyone was just forced to sit and wait.

Today was supposed to be the first day of the Gion Matsuri Festival. Hitomi understood why Hijikata ordered her to stay in the compound until Niimi was caught, but she couldn’t help but be slightly depressed over not being able to go. Even though her festival kimono was destroyed and irreparable she still wanted to at least see the parade. A sad sigh escaped her mouth as she hoped that perhaps next year she could go.  
  
“Hitomi-chan aren’t you going to pin that haori to the line,” Okita said lazily looking up at her. “Hmmm,” she said while popping out of her daze, “Oh…yeah.” She quickly grabbed a clothes pin and attached it to make sure it didn’t blow away. He smirked at her and teased, “Someone’s got her head in the clouds today, what are you thinking about? Sano? I suppose summer love is in the air.”  
  
“I…no I was thinking about something else,” Hitomi said turning her head away and focussing on hanging the laundry, “…but he does have rounds soon with Saitou-san doesn’t he?” While she lost her attention for the second time the clean haori she was about to hang blew out of her hands. “Eeeek,” she exclaimed as she ran and dove into the grass to catch it before it hit the ground. Okita laughed, “Oh Hitomi-chan, you are too cute. Don’t get hurt, I don’t want to have to explain to Sano that the laundry took you down - he’d never believe me.”  
  
”Of course I wouldn’t believe you,” Sano chuckled as he approached them, “never let your guard down when Souji’s around…He’ll find a way to make capitalize on a small mistake.”  
  
“Why, Sano-san, that’s not true,” Souji protested, a sadistic smile on his lips. “Stop spreading rumors about me.”  
  
“I’m not. I’ve known you for years; I know what you’re like,” He shot the fellow captain a wink then offered Hitomi a hand up, “Now how did you end up down here.”  
  
“Oh I was just chasing after the laundry before it blew away,” she said standing up with his help, then quickly pinning the haori to the line. Souji teased, “what Hitomi-chan means to say is that her head is somewhere else and she let the laundry blow away…I think it’s your fault.” Her face crinkled up for a moment as she said, “Okita-san!”  
  
He laughed and leaned lazily back down on the grass and said, “don’t let your face stay like that for too long, you don’t want to end up with wrinkles do you?” Hitomi glared at him and tossed a soaking wet hakama at him, “Okita-san you are so mean!!” Okita only laughed harder now as Hitomi’s face turned red.

“Hey, don’t fight you two,” Sano teased while smirking a little. “I have to get going since Saitou’s probably waiting for me,” he said softly while pulling stray pieces of grass from her hair, “I just wanted to check on you before I left.”  
  
“Arigatou Sanosuke,” she said with a bright smile. The others had said he was being a bit too clingy since that night, but Hitomi didn’t feel that way. After all he told her that he felt better when she was near him, and it went the other way too. “Have a good patrol then,” she said while giving him a quick kiss on his cheek, “I’ll see you when you get back.” Souji waved and said, “Don’t worry Sano, I’ll behave myself.”  
  
Sano waved and headed dow the path to meet up with his unit. As hr appraoched the gate he saw Saitou talking to Heisuke and Shinpachi who would have just returned. “Oy, There’s Sano,” Shinpachi said with a grin, “Saitou I’ll let you tell him the plan.” The captain nodded and turned to Sanosuke, “We should get going so that we do not fall behind.”  
  
Once they were underway Saitou finally began to fill Harada in on the details of what he was talking about with the other two. “Heisuke and Nagakura were able to talk Hijikata-san into allowing Suzume-san to go to the festival tonight,” Saitou explained, “The condition is that she must stay with the unit at all times in order to ensure her safety.” He went on to explain that Kondou and Sanan would stay behind to watch the compound while the rest would go out together.  
  
They stopped in front of a shop and Saitou handed a small bag with money to Harada. “Because of what happened, the captains and commanders all pitched in to help you buy Suzume-san a replacement yukata.”

“Wow. I really don’t know what to say Saitou, except thank you all,” Sano said with surprise as he accepted the money. He never expected them all to all pitch in together and do this. Considering how little they had been paid lately this really meant something; just like him they wanted her to be happy. He didn’t know how he could ever make this up to them.

Saitou nodded and said, “your thanks should lie with Heisuke-kun and Nagakura-san. They pulled this whole plan together.” He pointed at one of the shop windows and said in a low voice, “that’s the store she would stare at while out in town, so I suppose that means she likes what they sell?” He coughed and seemed almost embarrassed, “uh…the others said you would be able to pick out something that would, um, fit Suzume-san well.” He turned back around and said, “Once you’re done Yamazaki will sneak it back to headquarters for you so we can finish out rounds.”  
  
“Saitou, you have no experience with shopping or women at all do you,” he joked, “But thanks, Hitomi will be really happy about this, I’m sure.” Saitou nodded and said, “Women are not like swords, so no I do not. However I am pleased that you think Suzume-san will enjoy this.”  
  
Sano entered the store and quickly found a nice looking kimono that seemed to have the right size for Hitomi, as well as the colors that suited her. He smiled proudly at his choice and after paying, he handed the kimono over to Yamazaki.  
  
“I will go place it in her room while Toudou and Nagakura distract Suzume-san,” He nodded fiercely and dashed off as if it were a mission of great importance. “Shall we continue our rounds now Harada,” Saitou asked, “I assume you would like to finish them quickly so that you can return to headquarters.”

* * *

Hitomi spent her afternoon cleaning the main hall while Heisuke and Nagakura took turns watching over her. They seemed to have a constant grin on their faces, so she wondered what they were all excited about. Perhaps they were planning a night out at Shimabara, or perhaps they were planning some sort of prank.

“Ne, Hitomi,” Heisuke said looking over at her, “You look tired, maybe you should go relax in the bath.” She was suspicious of his behavior, suggesting a late afternoon bath? Maybe Sanosuke was in on whatever this was to. She decided not to ask questions, and instead played along. Hitomi tilted her head and said, “Hmmm maybe you’re right, a bath would be nice since I’ve been cleaning all day.”  
  
Heisuke walked down with her and stood guard outside the bathhouse as she walked in, saying he would make sure none of the men tried to enter. After a few minutes Shinpachi arrived and Heisuke whispered, “Is Sano back yet? I don’t know how much longer I can keep her distracted…though don’t women take a long time in the bath? That may be enough time for…OW!” Shinpachi smacked Heisuke on the head and said, “Baka, don’t say that about women, even I know that! And no I haven’t seen him yet, but he should be back soon.” Shinpachi grinned, “Ahhhhh, I want to tell her so bad right now, but we should wait for Sano…I hope Saitou didn’t mess up and end up taking too long on rounds.”

* * *

Sano let out a sigh of exhaustion when they arrived at the headquarters. They had to solve some smaller fights of store owners and so on, but it’d been pretty annoying and he just wanted to go to the festival now. As soon as he had chosen a kimono he considered matching the situation, he went over to Hitomi’s room.

* * *

Hitomi left the bathhouse and saw both Heisuke and Shinpachi giggling like girls together. “What are you two up to,” she asked, “You’ve both been acting strange all day.” Shinpachi ran off in the direction of the housing quarters, leaving Heisuke behind with a look of surprise on his face as he stuttered, “Uhhh…nothing..I mean…we aren’t, ummm.”  
  
“Heisuke you are a terrible liar,” Hitomi said, “You both better not be planning to play a joke on me!” He shook his head nervously and said, “No, No, It’s not a joke, It’s something good…I swear. Just, um, go to your room.” Hitomi raised a single eyebrow in curiosity, but decided to walk back to her room anyway with Heisuke sheepishly walking beside her.  
  
Once Hitomi reached the top of the hill she saw Shinpachi and Sanosuke sitting outside her room and he was wearing a kimono rather than his usual uniform. She thought it was strange, and as Hitomi joined them she asked, “OK so what are you three up to?”  
  
“It’s a surprise,” Sano chuckled a little and smiled back, “Why don’t you go inside and take a look at what I brought back from my patrols today.”  
  
Hitomi looked at them curiously, but as she slid open the door to her room a high pitched squeak escaped her mouth. She walked forward slowly and stared at the kimono hanging, waiting for her. Her fingers traced the edges of the fine silk, still unable to believe what was before her eyes. She turned around to face them with happy tears beginning to well up. Hitomi was speechless, all she could do was move her mouth to say “thank you” but the words wouldn’t come out.  
  
She quickly closed the door and took off her current clothes leaving them in a heap on the floor before carefully dressing herself. The tan colored kimono was adorned with pink lotus flowers and golden trimmings. The sleeves were sheer and fluttered, and the elaborate obi made of orange, yellow, and red fabric was adorned with tiny pearls. Hitomi looked and felt like a beautiful woman, maybe even a princess. Never in a thousand years would she have ever expected to be wearing such a fine garment.  
  
After she pulled part of her hair up with a matching hairpin she opened the door and walked back outside to see everyone waiting with grins on their faces. “It’s perfect,” she exclaimed while showing it off with a small spin. She jumped down then wrapped her arms around Sanosuke’s waist, clinging to the back of his blue kimono. “Thank you so much, I love it, Thank you.”  
  
“Sugoi!!!! You look great Hitomi,” Heisuke exclaimed while he jumped up and down. “She does, I think she’s too dressed up to wear it here though,” Shinpachi said with a widening grin, “But I can think of somewhere she should go tonight, maybe the festival…huh Sano?”

“I….I can go,” Hitomi said as her eyes grew wider. “Yeah, I think we all want to take turns as your escorts tonight,” Shinpachi said with a smirk, “that is if Sano isn’t against it.”

“Hey I know how to share,” Sano winked at Shinpachi and Heisuke, “just remember at the end of the day she’s still _my_ woman.”  

Turning his attention back to her he smiled, “You do look even more beautiful than usual himesama.” Her cheeks turned pink, a familiar sight that always warmed his heart. “I’m glad you like it, I was already worried that I might have picked the wrong size or color.” Hitomi giggled a bit and said to Sanosuke, “you were worried about that? You aren’t giving yourself much credit, It’s absolutely perfect.” She tugged lightly on his kimono so that he’d lower his head, then she gave him a nice long kiss to show exactly how happy she was.  
  
A cough was heard behind Sano, and when Hitomi peered in the direction she saw Ryunosuke, Saitou, Okita, and Hijikata staring at them. Hitomi blushed once again, seeming to be a little flustered when she found out there was an audience.  
  
“How about we get going, we don’t want to miss the parade at sundown,” Shinpachi said while nudging them to walk to the gate. They headed into the city and watched the parade of floats. It was truly amazing, and Hitomi stood there wide-eyed the entire time. Once the parade was finished the group began to walk through the festival.  
  
“SO GOOD,” Heisuke mumbled while stuffing his face full of Yakitori on a stick, “You…*nom*…want to try some Hitomi?” She laughed and said, “I think I’ll pass Heisuke-kun, especially since you almost ate the whole thing!” Shinpachi laughed and said, “See Heisuke you gotta do it my way.” He proudly displayed both hands each full of multiple sticks of food, “Learn from Sensei”  
  
“You were right, They are going to eat themselves sick,” she laughed quietly to Sanosuke while taking his hand. Saitou moved in close and said, “The problem with that strategy is that the chicken and beef cools before you can finish it.” He moved his hands away from his side, displaying the multiple orders of dango in his grasp, “this however is not affected by the temperature.” Hitomi blinked, “Even you too Saitou-san?” He seemed to blush with embarrassment as he awkwardly said, “They are not all for me; I’m not a glutton. Here have one Suzume-san, Harada-san, Hijikata-san.” They each took ahold of the dango and Hitomi ate hers one at a time. “Mmmm, delicious,” she exclaimed, “Arigatou Saitou-san.”  
  
“Hitomi-chan,” Souji said with a grin after finishing his own dango, “You and HIjikata-san need to come with me. I want to show you both something.” He grinned and dragged her along, while Hijikata followed behind with Saitou. “Heisuke, stay here with Ryunosuke,” Shinpachi said with a grin, “Sano, I found something that you might want to pick up tonight.” He motioned twoards the vendors, and near the entrance to the shrine there was an older man selling small casks decorated with hand-painted tsubaki flowers. “Oi, you want to explain this stuff again?”

The older man smiled, “Ahhhhh, you must be the one with the pretty young lady that he mentioned! Very well.” He went on to explain that inside the small decorated bottles was a special brew of sake that was blessed by a monk. “If you pour a cup for the one you love and yourself it’s supposed to symbolize that you wish to spend your life with her,” he said, “Once you both drink it, the sake will make your love blossom and endure through time. So, would you be interested in buying one young man?” 

 _“I don’t want to give up on my dreams, but right now I feel guilty about having them.  
I want to be happy, but not at the expense of others. I just can't put myself above those I care about.”_  

The story about the sake was nice, but Hitomi's words from that one day over a month ago still were in his mind. In fact they were the reason he hadn't gone any further with their relationship. Sano let out a quiet sigh, but he nodded anyways. “Yeah, I’ll buy some.” The older man accepted the money and handed over the small cask to Harada before they walked off. Nagakura could tell that his friend didn't seem to excited, so he said, "You can always save it, you know if this isn't the right time. I know you both are going through a lot." Sano shook his head and said, "No, it was a good idea Shin, thanks." They rejoined Heisuke and Ryunosuke, and soon he heard a female voice calling his name.

“Sanosuke, look what I got,” Hitomi giggled while running up to him gripping a stuffed white rabbit dressed in a kimono, “Isn’t it adorable?” Okita had a big grin on his face as he teased, “I’m surprised you didn’t keep the prize for yourself,  _Hi-ji-ka-ta-san_.” Their assistant commander’s face scrunched up as he growled, “I couldn’t turn down the challenge, but what the hell would I do with _that_? It’s disgustingly cute…It’s more fitting for a woman than me!” 

Sano laughed when Hitomi showed him the stuffed bunny. “Haha, that’s nice of Hijikata-san to give it to you...It does suite you much more than him."

Saitou then walked up to Hijikata and whispered something in his ear. The man’s face turned serious and he shot a glare to Harada which meant one thing, Niimi or his men must have been spotted. “We should start heading back,” Hijikata said calmly in order not to raise any suspicion, “Saitou and Okita have patrols to do yet this evening.”

Sano nodded to Hijikata, realizing it was their cue to leave. As they started back Hitomi had one hand holding the bunny, and the other clinging to Harada’s. She was so happy that she didn’t even notice that the entire unit had surrounded the both of them.

"Hey, is it okay if I come to your room for a little bit after we’re in the quarters? I bought some sake and if you like, we can drink it together,” Sano asked her with a smile. She moved her head to the side and said, “Sake? with just the two of us?” He always drank sake with the other, but for him to ask her she couldn’t help but blush shyly, “…I would love to Sanosuke.” For the rest of the walk back she leaned into him, smiling brightly. 

When they returned Hitomi turned to the group and bowed deeply, “Arigatou Minna; I can’t thank you all enough for tonight…I had so much fun!” Heisuke smiled brightly while hugging his building stomachache, “I’m glad Hitomi.” Nagakura nodded and patted her on the shoulder, “Me too.” Saitou nodded as he walked past, and Souji grinned, “You better take care of Hijikata’s bunny.” 

“It’s not mine Souji,” Hijikata muttered while walking back twoards his own room, “Get some sleep everyone.” As everyone left Hitomi looked up at Harada, standing up on her tip toes to give him a kiss. “Aishiteru,” she said turning flush again, ”I’m going to go back and change. I’ll see you shortly.”

She returned to her room and changed into her evening clothes, hanging back up the beautiful kimono she wore for the past few hours. Hitomi stood in front of the mirror, humming softly as she finish brushing her hair long hair and pulling it into a braid. She heard shuffling outside, so Hitomi walked up to her door sliding it open. “Come in Sanosuke,” she said with a large smile and sparkles in her eyes. 

Sano smiled softly as he entered the room. “I'm glad that you had fun today, I think we both needed that,” he said while sitting down on the floor. He put the bottle of Sake and two cups on a tray, then he motioned her to sit down. Usually he didn’t believe in myths like the one the seller had told him, but it would be nice to have some sake with Hitomi nevertheless.

Hitomi sat down across from him, and admired the decorated bottle as he poured out the sake. Perhaps it seemed silly, but she felt like a woman rather than a maiden at that moment. It wasn’t the idea of tasting her first drink of alcohol, but rather the way he was sharing it with her alone. “Arigatou,” she said while accepting the cup she took in it’s sweet floral scent, “Sanosuke, this smells different from the sake I normally serve. Is this special to the festival?”

He also noticed the different scent, but he didn’t think anything was odd about it. “Saa, who knows? Probably they put some special herbs into it to make it taste better. I was told it was a special sake, so…”

"You could have brought me _any_ sake and it would have been…” she said out loud soon realizing her mistake. “I mean….” she said starting to turn flush as she raised the cup to her lips. _Oh just say it Hitomi_ , she said to herself. She drank the sake quickly to calm her nerves and blurted out quickly, “It’s special because you want to share it with me, alone, instead of with the others.”

Sano chuckled a bit at her words, but they were words he was happy to hear. He loves how she was so innocent that just sharing sake made her blush. "Well, I'll just have to remember that for next time now wont I," he smiled.

“Um...Gomen'nasai Sanosuke,” Hitomi said while dropping her eyes a bit, “I haven’t been completely honest with you, and I have wanted to tell you something for a while now…but I was too scared to say it.” She refilled his empty cup first, then filled her own hugging onto it tightly, “I, I know it might be impossible but, if it could happen, I…” Hitomi hesitated again, her hands shaking slightly, “…I would like to be a part of your dream, If you want me to.” Her eyes closed as she drank the sake and nervously waited for his response.

Sano’s heart started beating a little faster when he heard her words. He moved closer to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. “I want you to be part of it; there’s nothing I want more.” Instantly relief spread throughout her body, as well as a feeling of warmth as he pulled her in close. Her eyes were a little wet as she said, “Yokatta.” She gently grabbed ahold of his neck, pulling him down slightly into a kiss. She wasn’t normally so forward, but right now she had the urge to be. Perhaps it was the sake, or rather it was her excitement from finally expressing what she had wanted to say for so long. She was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded, but though nothing of it as she moved back to her seat. “Shall we finish this sake, It tastes delicious,” she said with a tiny giggle, “Though I don’t know how well I’ll hold it…you may need to tuck me into bed later.”

Sano slightly wondered why Hitomi was suddenly so straightforward, and wondered if the sake really had some sort of magic to it. He found it a little hard to focus, so he decided to not think on it further. “Yeah, let’s finish it off and then we can get some sleep," he said with a smile, "All that walking tonight made me tired."

Hitomi gave a nod as she poured out the last small bit of sake for each of them. She drank the last cup said, “bed sounds good…I’m feeling really tired too.” Her head also was starting to ache horribly,  she didn’t expect the alcohol to make her so woozy. “Sanosuke, I guess I can’t hold my sake,” she said as the empty cup slipped from her hand and dropped onto the mat. Without realizing it she fell forward, landing next to his lap. Her head was spinning worse now, and her body wouldn’t move. “I don’t feel so well,” Hitomi said as her voice was fading, “would you take care of me?” Her body went limp as her eyes closed. 

“Hitomi?” Sano asked worriedly when she fell. He tried to move to her, but his head started to ache and he could barely see straight. That would have been understandable if it had been his first time drinking alcohol, but his body was pretty used to large amounts of sake. He then realized very quickly that something was wrong with the sake, the scent must have been hiding something else. With a weak moan he fell forward next to Hitomi's feet, and everything turned black.

The door quietly slid open and two male figures dressed in all black cautiously approached, nodding to each other before each picking up one of the bodies. Their red eyes glowed as they snuck off into the darkness with their two targets, heading to an abandoned storage facility owned by the Bakufu where Niimi waited patiently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a note I picked Tsubaki Flowers for a reason. While most see them as a sign of love, Samurai had a different viewpoint. They idolized sakura blossoms which fade bit by bit in a beautiful scene; however since the entire tsubaki flower falls off completely at once it's viewed as a bad omen.


	11. Hold On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This hand I’ve held tightly, to keep it close to me  
> I can’t let it slip through these fingers, I’ll hold on  
> It’s away with those old days back when I had  
> nothing or no one to lose, I do now…
> 
> “The Beginning” ~ One OK Rock

“ _Why do I feel so cold and wet_ ”, Hitomi thought to herself, “ _Is that why my body hurts right now?_ ” Her eyelids still felt so heavy, and she could barely put together a string of thoughts with her head spinning. The sound of rain falling heavily outside seemed to echo in her ears. _Oh, It’s raining, that’s why my skin feels wet…but why is it raining in my room_?

Hitomi tried to move, but her limbs wouldn’t respond, it was like they were restricted somehow. Her breathing was labored as she finally remembered something. Her and Sanosuke were drinking sake together and talking, then she felt sleepy.  She tried to move her lips to call for him, but her mouth was so dry and her words muffled. _Wait was there fabric in her mouth? Why would there be…Oh no_.

Hitomi forced her eyes open, a small gasp escaping as she quickly realized that she wasn’t in her room. She was somewhere else, and alone. “ _Sanosuke? Where are you Sanosuke_ ”, she thought. Her heart rate began to increase rapidly as a feeling of fear and panic spread. Only one person would have done something like this; Niimi. _Please be ok Sanosuke, Please be alive_.

* * *

 

“Hitomi, It’s time to wake up Serizawa is going to be so pissed that you’re late,” called Ryunosuke from outside. He didn’t get a response, and he didn’t hear anyone moving. “Hitomi?”

His hand hesitated for a moment before opening the door and walking inside. His eyes grew wide as he found the room disheveled and empty. He looked down and saw two sake cups on the floor, along with an empty cask. Ryunosuke turned on his heel and ran off to the captain's quarters shouting, “Everyone wake up,  We have a problem…WAKE UP!!!”

Slowly one by one the captains poked their heads out, and Hijikata growled, “What the hell is the reason for yelling Ryunosuke? It better be damn…”

“Hitomi’s missing, she’s not in her room,” He said in a panic. Nagakura and Heisuke immediately looked at each other and then ran into Harada’s room to see that is was untouched. “Sano’s gone too,” Heisuke said now becoming panicked as well. “Hijikata It had to have been,” Nagakura started.

“Niimi, Dammit…,” he growled in an angry tone ordered, “Everyone change, we need to setup a search party immediately. Make it quick!” The group went back into their rooms to change with burning anger in their eyes. They had to find Harada and Hitomi, and fast.

* * *

Niimi sat and waited for the red haired man before him to wake up. He had waited quite a while to put his plan into action, however he did have a schedule to keep. Niimi  grabbed a nearby bucket that was collecting water dripping from the abandoned Inn’s roof, a smirk forming on his face. He walked over slowly to Harada who was hanging from the supports with chains. They were strong enough to hold his fury’s, so they would be able to hold back the captain as well. It was finally time to have some fun. He splashed the cold water onto the man’s face and growled, “It’s time for you to wake up, Harada Sanosuke.”

Sano blinked and slowly opened his eyes when he felt something cold and wet in his face. Slowly the memories from what had happened came back; he’d been drinking sake with Hitomi and they both had collapsed. With his head still hazy it took him another moment to realize that he was gagged, his arms chained to a wall.

Hitomi was the only person on his mind as he pulled at his restraints trying to free himself. His efforts were useless however; Sano still felt weak, and to make matters worse the chains that held him were the ones they used to keep the furies under control. There was no way he’d be able to break them on his own. His eyes finally started to focus, and as he looked around for Hitomi he recognized who was standing in front of him. He growled Niimi’s name through his gag, glaring angrily at the bastard.

A smirk of satisfaction grew across Niimi’s face as he watched Harada struggle. “Did you say something,” He asked while he stepped closer , “I didn’t quite understand you.” He tapped the man on his cheek and continued, “Perhaps you just aren’t awake enough yet? No matter, I want you to listen to what I have to say anyway.”

“It’s quite pathetic how easy it was to drug you,” Niimi gloated, “All I needed was to get that shop owner to talk your dimwitted friend into having you buy that sake.” He slowly paced back and forth, his heavy steps echoing on the bare wood floor. “I hope you both enjoyed one last tender moment,” he quipped, “…because it was your last.”  
  
He stood right in front of Harada, grinning as the man tried to fight his restraints angrily once more. “Oh don’t worry, she’s alive…just a bit tied up at the moment,” Niimi’s face leaned in further, only millimeters away, “I planned on just stealing her, but since she’s become more resistant than I anticipated. I thought watching you die, very slowly, and painfully would change that.”

He untied the gag and said, “My man Takuma will take care of you for now, consider this a warm up. I’ll be back with the little bird later.” He turned around and his right hand man stepped into the dim light cracking his knuckles.

At first, nothing happened. The man called Takuma just stared at Sano, and Sano stared back. Perhaps he didn’t realize that Harada was also trained in torture techniques, so these cheap tricks weren’t going to intimidate him. Some time passed before Takuma seemed to accept that he couldn’t get further, then he turned around and picked something up before stepping closer.

A whip? That was so–

Sano nearly screamed in a mix of pain and surprise. This wasn’t a usual whip; it was covered with sharp barbs, making the hits more painful as they tore away at his skin. He bit down on his lower lip hard, growling, “It will take a lot more than that to make me scream.” As he was rewarded with another hit he thought to himself, “I’m not gonna give up. Hijikata-san will find out where we are.”

* * *

Hitomi laid silently on the floor with her eyes closed. After a valiant effort to try and free herself all she ended up doing was burning the rope into her skin, leaving it painfully raw. She awoke as the door suddenly opened, and a familiar face stared down at her coldly. “Good morning little bird,” Niimi said while bending down and running his hand along her cheek, “I hope you slept well, you have a long night ahead of you.”

She reacted by shifting her body away, but he quickly pulled her back. “Look what you did, your skin is bleeding,” he commented, “So that’s why the fury’s were so active, they smelled blood.” He stood up and sharply pulled her to her feet. Hitomi cringed slightly as the ropes dug deeper into her skin on her arms and wrists. “I’m going to cut free your legs, so be a good girl and do as I say, or else I won’t let you see _him_.”

Hitomi froze in place, Sanosuke must be alive and nearby. Relief spread through her body as Niimi cut the rope binding her legs. “So you’re obedient when it comes to him, I should have known,” he said in a snarl while pulling her forward, “Well let’s see what Takuma has made of your beloved, shall we?” Niimi forcibly dragged her along, her bare feet leaving a trail in the dusty floor. 

They arrived at a room one floor up from where she was being held, but just like before the room was dimly lit. “I’ve brought you some company Harada,” Niimi announced while pushing her forward so hard that in her state she fell to ground. She looked up from the floor and could make out the body in front of her, and it was indeed Sanosuke. Muffled noises were heard from Hitomi’s mouth as Niimi pulled her up to sit on her knees, attaching her ropes to a nearby support post so that she couldn’t run away.

“Now that we have our guest, Takuma why don’t you proceed with the next round,” Niimi said with a laugh, “I want her to see what happens to those who defy me.”

Hitomi stared up and could see the blood already dripping from his body; his clothes were shredded in spots as well. Even so he was still alive, and that gave her hope. Sanosuke was so strong, she knew he’d survive and find a way out of this.

She saw the other man take what looked like a bamboo practice sword, swinging it towards his gut with so much force that she could feel the wind as it swung. She stared at his eyes, trying not to watch what had just started in front of her. 

Sano was so happy to see she was alive and unhurt that he almost didn’t notice the sword hitting his gut. “Hi-Hitomi,” he mumbled in a raspy voice, “Don’t worry… I’m okay… and Hijikata-san will find us…”

Hitomi nodded her head softly as the man continued to hit Sanosuke. The sound of the cracking bamboo on his skin was echoing in the empty room, and each time it made a chill go down her spine. With each strike he refused to show his pain, knowing that he didn’t want Niimi to get the satisfaction of seeing him suffer. She wasn’t quite sure how much time had passed when Niimi suddenly stopped his man.

“Harada, why can’t a get a reaction out of you,” he said disappointed, “I expected to hear you scream, or at least beg for it to stop. How boring.” He shifted his body over to Hitomi, pushing a wet strand of hair away from her face, “Perhaps I need to use other methods.”

Hitomi shuddered when he moved her hair, slightly brushing his hand against her cheek. Her heartbeat started to race as she tried not to squirm squirm; instead she glared at him coldly. “That look doesn’t suit you,” he said eerily, “I much prefer that looks of sadness and fear in your eyes.” He stepped away and nodded at Takuma who moved from Sanosuke over to Hitomi. He pulled out a small knife and knelt down beside her, cutting shallowly into her skin along her collarbone. The pain only lasted for a moment before she felt the warm blood rip down the front of her white kimono. Suddenly Niimi smiled as his hair turned white and his eyes red.

Takuma forced her to her feet, holding her from behind as Niimi moved to her side, “Don’t worry, this will only hurt a little.” The slowly licked the trickle of blood just above her breast up to where the cut was made. He stared directly at Harada for a few moments before closing his lips around the wound. Hitomi could feel him suckling on her skin, and she closed her eyes. He slowly let his hands wander, being sure that Harada could see everything.

“You bastard, get your filthy self off her,” Sano growled as the sound of his chains moving echoed in the room. Not only was Niimi now a fury, he was drinking Hitomi’s blood, and doing it in a way to purposely piss him off. The second that he grabbed ahold of her chest and licked her skin he completely lost his patience. “You can do whatever the hell you want to me,” He growled as he once again pulled on his restraints, “But don’t you dare touch or hurt her.”

“Finally,” Niimi mocked as he removed his lips from the small open wound, “It seems like the only way I can get you angry is when she’s involved.” He walked over to Harada and glared at him in his fury form and whispered, “Her blood is delicious by the way. Don’t worry I won’t use her to feed the others. I’m keeping her all for myself.” His fury form faded as he said, “As you can tell I’ve perfected my formula and can control my bloodlust. You should be happy that I still have my sanity...otherwise....”

He nodded again at Takuma who let Hitomi fall back to her knees once more. He picked up the whip he used earlier and handed it over to Niimi. With a quick crack he stuck her back, hitting her arms and hands tied tightly behind. A muffled, high pitched sound broke through her gag as she winced in pain. It hurt so badly, was this what he used on Sanosuke?

“...I could have hurt her far worse.” He grinned and continued, ”I could keep playing with her, but I want to be able to still have my fun later.” He cracked the whip one more time, this time across the top of her thighs which hurt even worse. Hitomi whimpered and dropped her head, trying desperately not to cry.

“Takuma will take over for a while, If you’re not begging to die by the time I get back then you’ll find out what I have in store next.” Niimi tossed the whip aside as his right hand man walked back up to Sanosuke. In his hand he had a long piece of metal that was glowing bright red with heat, “Well, let’s see how this works.”

Hitomi’s eyes grew wide as she looked up at him; this man was going to torture Sanosuke right in front of her...and the thought made her heart start to shatter.

“Take her out of this room,” Sano hissed, his eyes growing angrier, “I said you can do whatever you want to me, but don’t make her watch this. You can’t. She doesn’t deserve that, no woman does!” He was scared of what was about to happen, but his first priority was Hitomi. He didn’t want her to see what was about to unfold.

Niimi turned around and laughed, “Even now you are trying to protect her? How very noble of you Harada.” He walked back over to Hitomi and said, “I’ll do this as a small favor, but if she misbehaves and talks then it comes right back off;  understood Takuma?” He removed her gag and took the white cloth, covering her eyes with it before tying it behind her head.

“Now no more interruptions, we are running behind schedule and I want you to suffer as long as possible before I leave here with her,” He turned around once more and left as Takuma moved in with the hot metal towards Sanosuke’s chest.

When he felt the burning sensation on his bare skin Sano screamed, unable to hold it back anymore. But it wasn’t only from the pain, he was so frustrated with himself for not being able to protect Hitomi properly. He always spoke about how a man should protect women, and now unless the others showed up to free him there would be no way he could save her. That realization made him feel like he had failed the woman he loved.

Sano could see the tears falling down her face, and her breathing become erratic as she attempted to choke back her sobs. That sight was still more painful than the second round of intense burning he felt spreading across his already torn up skin. Right now he was helpless, and could only hold out hope that Hijikata would find them in time.

* * *

“Hijikata-san,” said Heisuke, “Don’t you think that if the both of them are gone, it could have something to do with Niimi?”

“Who else would it be,” he said in annoyance, “I’m more pissed off that they were taken from our own headquarters...how the hell did nobody notice?” Hijikata clenched his fist and mumbled, “If we can’t protect a single woman how can we protect an entire city.”

Kondou put his hand on Hijikata’s shoulder and said, “It was a mistake, one we will learn from. Besides Niimi was one of us, he knows this place just as well as we do.” He frowned quietly, “I think Nagakura is beating himself up the most, especially once Sannan discovered the sake was poisoned with a sedative.”

Hijikata let out a sigh, “I know he’s been out all day looking for them. He wouldn’t even stop back here to swap out with Saitou...he insisted on covering more ground on his own.” He took a sip of his tea and began to appear deep in thought.

Moments later Sannan walked in without knocking first, and with a hurried tone in his voice “Hijikata-san we have a lead. I’ve called off the search and sent out scouts to the location. It’s an abandoned in on the outskirts of the city rumored to be an old Tosa rebel base. Once we get confirmation the unit can move out.” Hijikata nodded and looked at Heisuke, “You go tell the others. I want everyone ready to deploy as soon as we get the confirmation. Understood?”

Heisuke nodded and ran off to tell the others. He first stopped by Saitou’s room which was the closest, “Hajime-kun, we’ve got a lead. Hijikata-san wants everyone to get ready to depart as soon as we’ve got the confirmation.” He told the others the same and then joined them to wait at the front gate.

* * *

 Despite her best efforts Hitomi’s eyes were wet with tears. Every time she heard a crack, sizzle, or groan a shiver went down her spine. Goosebumps were all over her arms and legs as she sat there cold, wet, and unable to move. When she heard the sickening sound of a knife cutting through flesh Hitomi couldn’t stay quiet any longer.

“Stop...stop this...He can’t take anymore,” Hitomi yelled, “Niimi make this stop. It’s me you want not Sanosuke! Just stop this...PLEASE. I don’t want him to...”

A painful smack went across her cheek, cutting off her begging and the blindfold was ripped off. Her eyes quickly adjusted and focussed on Sanosuke, who looked downright horrible. He was bloodied and bruised; and it seems like the life was sucked right out of him. “Sanosuke,” she whimpered barely recognizing him if it wasn’t for his red hair, “I’m sorry…”

Sano only breathed shakily and very slowly. He felt like he’d now broken at least two ribs and maybe even some other bones as well. His chest was still hurting the worst after the branding and his sight was blurry, but he still tried to appear as rebellious as he could. “I’m fine,” he mumbled more to himself than to anyone else although it was meant for Hitomi to hear, “It’s okay, I can bear it.”

He wasn’t OK, he was fading and she knew it. He was so strong, but even a man like him eventually wore down after being tortured for this long. She had to do something, she had to give him a reason to keep going. Hitomi forced herself to her feet, and using all her strength she tugged on the rope holding her to the support beam. The burning sensation didn’t phase her any longer, she was determined to try and break free.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing,” Takuma said raising an eyebrow. When Hitomi refused to answer and kept pulling on her ropes he seemed annoyed as he walked over. He grabbed ahold of her shoulders and that’s when she surprised him, kneeing him in between his legs with all her might. “You Bitch,” he growled while sinking to the ground withering in pain. She kicked him once more in the gut and growled, “That one is for hurting Sanosuke!”

She used her remaining energy to gain enough slack on the rope that she was able to move forward towards him. Unable to go any further, she leaned forward pressing her forehead softly into his chest.

Sano watched with surprise as Hitomi forced her bonds loose. He would smile if he had the strength to. "Don't worry about me, just stay alive so the others..."

“Sanosuke, I need you to stay alive so you can come and save me,” she said wearily, “...so promise me you won’t give up! I need you!” Hitomi kissed his skin gently, barely able to reach it with her lips, "promise me..."

“I promise,” Sano whispered when Hitomi gently kissed his chest, although he wasn’t so sure if he could do that. He was tired, his whole body hurt and the probably only thing about him that was not broken yet was his will to save Hitomi and then be reunited with their friends.

Hitomi was suddenly pulled backwards, straight back into the support beam the rope was tied to. “Someone is misbehaving again, you’re not too bright are you.” Niimi taunted while grasping her throat, “There won’t be any saving happening.” He released his grasp and as she gasped for air he grinned, “I’ve gone through too much trouble to kill you...but him? He’ll be dead soon enough.”

Hitomi smiled as the sound of clashing swords could be heard in the distance.

“We need to leave, let's head for the back exit.” Niimi ordered while letting go of her throat and untying the rope keeping her in place, “You need to move now wench.” As soon as he started pulling her she screamed at the top of her lungs, “HURRY, WE’RE UPSTAIRS!” Niimi covered her mouth with his free hand as he dragged her away.

* * *

 The unit descended upon the building in the darkness, greeted by a mass of fury soldiers. As theirs swords clashed in the early stages of assault a piercing female voice filled the air. “You heard her, We need to break through and get upstairs,” Hijikata ordered. Nagakura wasn’t expecting the weight of one extra sword and carrying Sano’s spear to slow him down, when he was confronted by one of Niimi’s men...but thankfully Heisuke was always fast. “Oi, thanks Heisuke,” he said with a grin, “We gotta find Sano...He’ll be pissed if we make him wait any longer!”  
  
The group fought their way through the fury forces and eventually Heisuke and Shinpachi got to a room at the end of the hall where they had heard the screaming from before. When they walked inside they heard a familiar voice.

“Shinpachi, Heisuke,” Sano whispered in surprise, almost relaxing in his bonds

“Sano!” Shinpachi yelled while running inside with Heisuke in tow. When he stopped in front of his friend he grimaced, “Oi…you look like hell Sano. Heisuke get him down.” He looked around and said, “I don’t see Hitomi, I’m guessing she’s with him? We have to hurry then huh?”

Heisuke stood on his toes to try and reach where the chains were attached as he said in an annoyed tone, “Shin why am I the one doing this?!? You’re taller!”

“Huh, oh right,” He said slightly embarrassed forgetting that there was no way in hell Heisuke could reach the release hooks. He moved quickly and released their friend, letting the chains fall to the floor. Heisuke offered a hand to Sano and was about to say something when a female voice screamed from a distance.

_“Hayaku, He’s taking me to…”_

“Sounds like Hitomi is telling where she is again,” Shinpachi smiled, “She’s a smart woman.” He pulled out the extra sword from his belt and put Sano’s spear in front of him, “Come on, we should get moving now that we know which direction to go! We’ll help you get there.”

* * *

Niimi growled and said to Takuma, “Shut her up will you? She’s giving away our location.” The man nodded and took the hilt of his sword, hitting her in the chest. Once she was knocked out he threw the woman over his shoulder as he and Niimi proceeded to escape through the back of the building. Outside the yard was overgrown with weeds knee deep as they moved towards an abandoned shrine.

* * *

Sano braced himself on his spear and his friends, trying to not slow them down. “I’m looking like hell? That’s good, then I’m probably looking better than I feel. But did you expect anything less after spending… I don’t even know how much time… with Niimi? Guess I’m completely useless in a fight right now. That bastard, he’s just running now that you’re here… he should at least face us like a real samurai… but I forgot. He isn’t a samurai…”

“He can try to run, but we are not going to let him get away,” Heisuke said with a bit of sharpness in his voice. Nagakura nodded and spoke up with a grin, “Yeah, and I know you’ll fight...just get your strength back while we start it and then you can finish him off.” They soon found themselves outside the dilapidated building in a small field of weeds.

“Well at least we can follow their path,” Heisuke said while noting the trampled grass and footprints in the mud. The sounds of raindrops mixed with crossing steel in the distance. Heisuke looked at his friends and complained, “No Fair, Someone is starting without us! Who’s at the rear guard?” Nagakura moved a bit faster now as he replied, “Yamazaki and Shimada...so we should move a bit faster. You OK with that Sano?”

* * *

Hitomi coughed as she slowly opened her eyes back up, her chest aching from the hit she received earlier. She felt even more cold and wet than before, making her body ache even worse. A slight groan left her mouth as she raised her head, realizing she was on a porch. It looked like it was a shrine at some point, but it has since been abandoned and fallen into disarray. She wondered if the God who was represented here abandoned this place as well.

“Would you hurry up and finish them Takuma? I’m getting impatient,” Niimi growled from behind her. Hitomi stared ahead and in the dense woods she could see what looked like Yamazaki and someone else fighting against a fury. Not only was Niimi a fury, but his right hand goon was as well, and he seemed to be overwhelming both of the watchmen.

“This is just a minor inconvenience,” Niimi spoke while running his fingers through her wet hair. She suddenly went to move and that was when he drew his blade, leaving it at the base of her neck. “No more games wench...If you move or make a sound you’re done,” He said in almost a whisper directly into her ear, “Understood little bird?” She nodded her head slowly and hoped that soon the others, especially Sanosuke would arrive soon. Till then she would sit there quietly, cringing as he stroked the bare skin on her leg.

“I’m okay with anything if it makes me able to kill Niimi,” Sano replied, his voice unusually cold. “Until now I thought I’d be happy with just turning him in to some kind of jail, but that’s not enough to punish him for what he has done now.” Luckily it didn’t take them long to catch up, and Sano tensed up when he saw Hitomi and Niimi together on the porch of the old shrine.

Nagakura could sense the anger behind Sano’s voice so he just nodded. After Everything Niimi had done to him and Hitomi he couldn’t blame him. To be honest, he wouldn’t be surprised if Sano ended up going after Niimi on his own and winning. Her knew his best friend well, and even if he was on his deathbed Sano would still do anything to protect her.

“Crap, It looks like Yamazaki got beat…same with Shimada,” Heisuke commented while letting go of Sano and checking on the two watchmen, “They’re alive still.” That was when a flash of metal moved past him, and Heisuke barely dodged it in enough time. “Heisuke you good,” Shinpachi asked while leaving Sano to rely on his staff for support so that he could draw his sword. Once the boy drew his blade as well he replied, “Yeah, but I’m really starting to hate these things!” The two men began to fight against this other fury, hoping to end this quickly so that they could help Sano with Niimi.

Hitomi perked up when she heard the sound of Heisuke and Nagakura’s voice. Her eyes darted through the woods and then she saw him standing there, leaning against his spear. “Sanosuke!” she said with a smile, “I knew you’d…Ahhhhh!” Suddenly the short sword plunged into her skin causing her to cry out in pain as she saw it erupt through her skin below the collarbone. “I told you not to open your mouth,” Niimi snarled while slowly twisting the blade. Her eyes watered as the pain spread through her chest and shoulder, gritting her teeth to prevent herself from screaming. He pulled the blade out and pushed her forward, a tiny gasp escaped her mouth as she fell off the porch of the dilapidated shrine. Her body slammed against the ground hard, landing on the muddy path below.

Sano clenched his staff and started to walk towards them as he watched the scene unfold. As if his anger wasn’t already overflowing, he kept on playing with Hitomi right in front of his eyes. “Sorry Shin, I can’t wait any longer,” he thought to himself making his way closer to the shrine; Sano had to stop him right now.

Niimi slowly walked down the steps then stood above Hitomi. He reached down and pulled her up by her hair and called out, “Look at him, He can barely even walk; do you really still think he is going to save you?”

Hitomi could see the fire burning in Sano’s eyes even from that distance, so she smiled gently like she always did. “Do I think he’ll save me? No, ” she replied sharply, “I _know_ he will.”

Niimi promptly let her go as he snarled, “Stay there in the mud and watch as I kill him wench, then you can join him in Hell.” Niimi’s hair turned white and his eyes filled with red rage as he drew his sword.

“Niimi, the only one going to hell is you,” Sano replied just as angrily, "Hold on a little longer Hitomi, He'll be the one dead soon." With those words he leapt forward, having regained as much of his strength as he could, and pushed his spear forward to hit Niimi.

Niimi laughed as the spear pierced his skin, he didn’t even bother to dodge it. “It’s going to take much more than that pathetic attempt to kill me Harada.” He stepped back and the hole in his chest started to close back up. “It’s a shame, I was hoping you’d at least pose a slight challenge.”

“It’s not an _attempt_ ,” Sano replied coldly, “I made a promise that I’d kill you right here and now.” His eyes looked over at Hitomi momentarily as he continued, “and I intend to keep that promise.” He wasn't sure where this sudden surge of strength came from, but he used it to his advantage as their fight dragged on. 

"Stop talking and just die already," Niimi growled. He quickly moved forward with his sword and was ready to strike when someone jumped in front of Harada.

“How about we even things up,” Nagakura said using his sword to block Niimi’s. He was bloodied and bruised from their fight with Takuma, but he was just getting started and had a lot of energy left. Heisuke jumped to the right side of Sano with his sword pointed forward, “Yeah, we want to send you to hell too!”

“No matter how many of you there are I’m still going to win,” Niimi snarled while beginning a quick set of relentless swings to push the group back. “None of you can defeat me.”

“You know I’m getting real fucking tired of hearing you say that crap.” Nagakura yelled back, “Fury or not you can’t match our skills!”

Sano smirked slightly, feeding off his friend's energy. “Shin’s right; you might be a fury but you can’t beat the three of us!” He lined up with his best friends and prepped his spear, “Shin, Heisuke, let’s attack him from all sides.”

The two men nodded, both with serious looks on their faces as they started to spread out in a triangle shape. Niimi was overly cocky, laughing as they surrounded him. He started to block the flurry of attacks lead by Heisuke and Nagakura. “You’re all moving far too slow,” he laughed, “I can see your movements coming before you even make them!”

Niimi was able to catch Heisuke off guard, cutting his leg. He cringed in pain but kept his stance and continued fighting; when Nagakura also took a hit to his arm he did the same. They weren’t going to let their injuries get in the way, If Harada was standing after everything he went through then they sure as hell weren’t going to give up either.

Heisuke shot a glance to both Nagakura and Harada before making his move. Even though he was bleeding and in pain he jumped up, bringing his katana down sharply along Niimi’s chest. Nagakura then drove his blade into Niimi’s side, twisting it to damage his internal organs.

To finish him off, Sano drove his spear right into Niimi’s chest before pulling it back, “This is to make up for all the time I’ve had to wait to kill you.” Then, pushing it forward a second time he aimed right for Niimi’s heart. “And that’s for hurting the woman I love.”

A look of madness NIimi’s face as he laughed, coughing up his own blood.  “Heh, I’m not going to die Harada,” he sputtered out, “Not without taking you with me.” As his hair was fading back to its normal color he took his short sword and made one final lunge towards the red haired captain.

Sano retreated as quickly as he could–he wasn’t fast enough to avoid getting hit completely, but when he fell forward, moaning in pain, he knew that Niimi’s strike wasn’t deep enough to kill him. “Sorry, Hitomi,” he mumbled, his eyes closing slowly. Then, he lost consciousness.

Sanosuke and Niimi both collapsed at the same time Nagakura jumped down to his side and grimaced a pit as he pulled his best friend up to a sitting position. “Dammit Sano, now I have to carry your heavy ass,” He joked while looking over the fresh wound. He ripped off a piece of fabric from his own uniform and held it over the wound to stop the bleeding.

Heisuke ran over to Hitomi and helped her up, cutting free the ropes that still were tied around her upper body. “Don’t worry Hitomi, He’s just tired ok,” he said while helping her up to her feet as he saw the tears in her eyes. Hitomi nodded and said, “I know, I’m just relieved. Can you take me to him?”

Heisuke smiled and helped her over to where Harada was with Nagakura. Hitomi sat down on the ground and let Heisuke shift him onto her lap. She smiled down at him, a few tears falling as she leaned down and kissed him on the lips. “You don’t have to worry anymore, I’m fine…and I’m with you now,” She whispered softly taking ahold of his hand, “It’s over.” She leaned back down and kissed him once more, swearing she felt him grasp her hand back.


	12. Dreams by the Seaside

Nagakura smiled as he put a blanket over Hitomi, who had fallen asleep next to Sano’s futon. It had been a almost a week since the battle with Niimi, and she had only left his side to take care of her chores for Serizawa. Every other moment she spent in his room, waiting for him to wake up and tending to his injuries. She looked exhausted, but just like how Sano would do anything for her, she did whatever she could for him.

He quietly took a seat and leaned up against the wall. With Niimi gone there was really no reason to keep an eye on her, but he and Heisuke felt they should...at least until Sano had recovered. He pulled out a cask and two cups of sake, always keeping a second ready, just in case. He took a sip and said aloud with a sigh, “You lazy ass; when are you gonna wake up so I can stop taking on your rounds?”

Sano’s body ached horribly, but he felt as if he had been sleeping for a long time. He felt warm and comfortable, and guessed that he was likely home. He was just going to lie there for a bit longer when he heard a familiar voice bitching to his right. “I heard that,” Sano said as he slowly opened his eyes, “You’re gonna have to suck it up Shin, I can’t do rounds until I’ve healed you know.” 

“Sano…You’re awake?” Nagakura said in surprise raising his voice slightly before he noticed Hitomi stir on the floor. He lowered his volume and shifted over to the futon smiling as he harassed his best friend, “Yeah sure, I’ll suck it up -- but only after you have a drink with me you big idiot.”

Sano chuckled and sat up slowly from his futon, an act that made his chest hurt. He lwas happy to be back in his own room, and that sleeping to his left was Hitomi. He smiled a bit and asked, “…did she tend my injuries…?” He seemed to be covered in bandages practically everywhere on his upper body, and they were all wrapped too neatly to have been done by the others.

“Yeah, Every day. She’s been looking after you in between her work.” He was careful to chose his words, not wanting to upset his friend after he just woke up. Nagakura poured a cup of sake and handed it over to him saying, “Don’t worry, Heisuke and I have been keeping an eye on her.“

“Work?” Sano asked, taking the cup of sake thankfully. “She was injured too, tell me that Serizawa at least gave her a day or two off beforehand.” 

“Eh…well,” He said running his hand through his hair, “The morning after we got back he put her back to work. Unfortunately Kondou and HIjikata had no say in the matter, but at least Ryunosuke has been helping her.”

Sano nodded slightly and lifted the cup to his lips. It didn’t surprise him to hear this, but he still was hoping he’d at least give her a small break to have time to heal, if not physically then mentally. “Oh and Shin,  thanks for watching out for her. Is she okay after what happened with Niimi?”

“She seems OK,” he explained, “But you know Hitomi, she smiles no matter what. I think once you're up she’ll actually be back to herself.” He poured another cup for the both of them and said, “I think after this round I’ll leave you two alone. She’s been sleeping for a while, so don’t feel bad for waking her up OK?”

“Okay. Thanks again, Shin,” He said while handing over the empty sake cup. He gave a smile and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll heal up quickly so I can get back to work soon.” After Shinpachi had left, he leaned over and gently shook Hitomi’s shoulder. “Hitomi, wake up…”

Hitomi’s body shifted slightly and her hand grabbed ahold of him. “Can’t I sleep a little longer, you kept me up late last night” she muttered softly in a dream. Her cheeks turned red as she laughed quietly, “OK, I’ll get up….but only if you call me that again.” Her head nuzzled against his leg as she giggled softly, “No silly, I meant Tsuma…I love the way you say that.” 

A smile hushed across Sano’s lips when he realized what she was dreaming about. “Tsuma, huh? If you want me to call you that then,” he paused while taking his free hand and brushing away her hair, “Wake up, my lovely tsuma~”

Hitomi’s eyes slowly opened, and she was someone peering back down at her. She blinked and said, “Sanosuke…wait….you’re sitting up? You’re awake!?!” She sat up quickly, nearly sending the blanket on top of her flying into the air. Her tiny arms wrapped carefully around his chest, well above where his broken ribs were. “Yokatta,” she said with relief in her voice, “How long have you been up? I’m sorry that I fell asleep!”

“Ah, no need to be sorry. Actually I’ve been only awake for a little while myself. How are you? Are your injuries healing well?” he smiled and patted her head.

She grinned at he put his hand on her head, oh how she had missed that. “My injuries are mostly healed; only my chest still hurts,” She said touching where Niimi had pierced her with his short sword, “..but only a little bit. Dr. Matsumoto said I’d be fine.”

Hitomi slowly ran her hand along his jawline and said, “Now you however should not be sitting up without proper support! You have at least seven broken ribs, not to mention everything else.” She looked down and said, “so tell me the truth, how are you feeling?” She hadn’t said anything to the others, but once she realized all the torture he endured she felt so guilty inside; not only for what happened, but because she was selfish and told him to keep fighting. “Until I saw it with my own eyes, I didn’t know how bad it was Sanosuke…” she said her voice falling to a whisper.

“I’m fine,” he replied, hugging her tightly. “Well, everything still hurts, but I guess that’s to be expected.” He ran his fingers through her soft hair, taking in her familiar sweet scent. “Hey, don’t apologize, you weren’t the one who did this so don’t blame yourself,” he said knowing by now what she was thinking. “I’m sorry that you had to hear and see it,” Sano said apologetically. 

He felt Hitomi grip him a little tighter as she said, “but, you had to bear so much pain...I can’t even imagine how you felt after all that.” He quietly soothed her by rubbing her back gently. “When I saw you fight back and encourage me, that’s all I needed to keep going,” Sano said, “I can face anything if it’s for the one I love.”

When he uttered the last for words she gripped his back a little tighter. Her eyes were slightly glassy as she said, “I knew you were going to say something like that.” Hitomi looked up at him and said, “but as the one who loves you back, I don’t want you to ever have to go through that again…”

“I understand now how you felt all those times that Niimi hurt me,” she said, “I was so angry and sad…I couldn’t stand it.” She stopped for a moment to dry off her eyes, “Even though I know it’s not my fault, I’m still sorry for putting you through all that.” 

“Hey, don’t cry. Now that Niimi is gone we don’t have to think about any of that anymore,” Sano pulled her closer, ignoring the pain in his chest, “All that we have left is to free you from Serizawa, then we can both be together with nothing to hold us back.” He pulled away from her slightly, but only so he could take his hand and wipe away the remaining tears from her cheek. Sano smiled, “So just hold on a bit longer, this will all be over soon.”

Hitomi nodded softly, feeling better now that she had said everything that was weighing on her heart. “I hope so, he’s done some terrible things recently,” she said, “He made Hijikata-san cut off a Geisha’s hair last night. Before that he burned down someone’s business that was suspected of being a Choshuu loyalist, and in the process destroyed several homes.”

Sano cringed when he heard the story that Hitomi told; he wouldn’t have thought Serizawa was that far gone...but apparently he was wrong.  His face grew serious as he asked, “He hasn’t done anything to you has he?” She shook her head and said, “No, he’s been fine with me other than his typical yelling.” His shoulders relaxed with relief, glad to hear that she was indeed fine. 

“Hijikata-san has been giving me duties as well as Ryusnosuke to keep us away from Serizawa as much as possible,” she explained, “Neither of us are allowed to tend to him alone for any reason.” Hitomi smiled as she continued, “Oh, speaking of orders...now that you’re awake I can follow my orders from the Assistant Vice Commander!”

“I’m supposed to make you my top priority and ensure that you rest and get better,” she said with a huge smile. She bowed playfully and said, “so if you desire anything at all you can ask me and I shall do as you request.”  

“Anything at all? Hmmm, well then how about a kiss,” Sano asked with a grin. Hitomi let out a tiny laugh before she leaned in and whispered, “as you wish.” Her lips touched his, the sweet feeling of her soft skin against his was wonderful. In fact, it felt so nice that he reached up and help her head in place, grasping her hair to ensure she stayed there longer.

The door to the room flung open and a voice said, “No fair Sano, You wake up and have a drink with Shin but not me? I helped out too you know!” Heisuke pouted and burst inside walking up to them, “I had to help carry your ass back here…and you’re heavy you know!”

Sano let go of Hitomi, and she began to giggle as she sat beside him. Heisuke shoved a cup of Sake in front of his friend and said, “So you owe me Sano!” Of course the boy was joking, but this was his way of showing his relief that his friend was all right.

Sano laughed amusedly. “Well, Heisuke, isn’t it your own fault for not being here? Besides, you know you shouldn’t drink so much anyway.” Heisuke pouted. “Shut up. Shin let me drink all I wanted while you were asleep.”

“Well, he’s not me, is he?” He patted Heisuke’s shoulder and took the cup. “I’ll allow you to drink, just this once,” he added, winking playfully. Heisuke’s brows furrowed as he muttered, “yeah, yeah whatever you say  _ old man _ .” He took a sip of his sake and said, “I’m glad you’re OK. You even had Hijikata-san worried you know.”   
  
“Hijikata showed an emotion other than anger, boy I missed out on that too,” Sano joked.

Hitomi nodded and said, “He did seem concerned when he would come check on you. It was cute because he acted like he was checking on me instead.” She stood up and let out a tiny yawn, “I’m going to go make us all some tea…Heisuke-kun look after Sanosuke for me.” 

After she left Heisuke turned back to Sano and poured another speaking in a serious tone, “Sano…’It’ is scheduled to happen next week. Shin, Ryunosuke, and Hitomi don’t know.” He lowered his voice more, “Hijikata wants you in the group, only if you’re well enough though.” 

“I’m always well enough for that. Hell I’d get up and run to join you if it was scheduled for right now. But…” Sano furrowed his eyebrows, “why didn’t you guys tell Shin and Ryunosuke? I mean, I understand why you didn’t tell Hitomi, but what’s the reason behind not telling Shin and Ryunosuke?”

Heisuke shrugged, “I don’t know why, but Hijikata and Kondou said that was their decision. I think it’s because Shin doesn’t feel Serizawa should die? Or maybe because they are from the same Dojo? I don’t know.” He frowned and stared at his cup, “me and Saitou are supposed to keep them out of this...while you, Sannan, Okita, and Hijikata..well..you know.”

Sano raised his eyebrow. “I just hope for your sake that they’ll let you take care of Ryunosuke. Shin is not going to take it well if he finds out.”

Heisuke nodded slightly, “The plan is for Saitou-san to watch Shinpachi.” As light footsteps approached he immediately dropped the subject and said, “So you totally missed out seeing Shinpachi faceplant in front of a cute girl leaving the tea house on patrols yesterday…”

The door opened and Hitomi stepped inside carrying a tray, “Heisuke-kun, are you telling that story again? Poor Shinpachi, he was so embarrassed.” She sat down next to Sanosuke again and said, “I brought some tea, and I thought you may be hungry so I brought rice balls as well.”

“Ah, yeah, that’s great Hitomi. Thanks,” Sano smiled and took a rice ball. “Oh, these are delicious. I guess I also missed out on your food too, didn’t I?”

“No, it was Saitou’s turn so we had Tofu…again,” Heisuke said reaching for a rice ball, “Hijikata hasn’t let Hitomi cook dinner since she’s been watching over you.” He ate the rice ball slowly, “All these rice balls she made before, and they have been the only good thing I’ve eaten in days.” Hitomi giggled, “Don’t worry Heisuke-kun, I’ll make sure to cook a big dinner soon for everyone.” He grinned and stood up slowly, “I can’t wait Hitomi~ All right I’ll let you two be alone again. Thanks for the drink Sano, and for the snack Hitomi! Ja Ne~” 

Once he left Hitomi handed a cup of tea over to Sanosuke along with some medicine from Hijikata, “Here take these.” She took a sip from her own tea, seeming to relax from the warmth in her hands. “I saw Hijikata on my way back, he said he’ll speak with you in the morning, but he’s happy that you’re awake.”  He took the medicine and swallowed it together with some tea. “Did the doctor give a diagnosis about my injuries? Do we know how long it’ll take for them to heal?” He wanted to have some idea, especially if they were to take down Serizawa soon.

She nodded her head slightly, “Most of the wounds are already healing, I’ve been good about putting on the salve Dr. Matsumoto gave me for your burns and cuts.” Hitomi touched his bandaged chest lightly, “As for your ribs they will take a month to fully heal, but you can start moving around as soon as the pain is diminished. He said you were quite lucky that only your ribs were broken, If you had broken anything else you would be off duty for much longer.” 

“I know you probably want to get back to your duties soon,” Hitomi said while leaning against his shoulder, “but just don’t go back before you’re ready OK?” She smiled, placing her soft hand on top of his, “Do you feel like trying to move a little bit? It’s beautiful outside tonight…and some fresh air may do you some good.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get the rest I need,” he promised. “Yeah, walking a little sounds good, I feel so stiff form just lying here for a while.”

Hitomi slowly helped him to his feet and they walked outside his room. The evening air was humid from the rain in the morning, but there was a nice breeze outside making it much more tolerable. 

They walked past Saitou and Okita’s rooms, and stopped at the steps. Noticing that he was struggling a bit more, she suggested they take a rest. The stars covered the night sky, and it was nearing the full moon. 

“Sanosuke,” Hitomi said leaning against him, “I had such a lovely dream earlier…It was..well..” Her face started to grow a bit more flush with each word. She looked down and intertwined her fingers with his. Just as she was about to continue though another voice interrupted.

“Harada you’re up?”  Ryunosuke changed directions and walked up to them. “I guess that means you are doing better now? That’s good. Maybe then I won’t have to take on as many of Hitomi’s chores.”  Shinpachi came up behind him, smacking the boy on the back of the head, “There I took care of him for ya Sano.” Ryunosuke growled, “What was that for, I didn’t do anything!” He looked at the boy and tugged him along, “I’ll explain later, why don’t you leave those two alone, Come on.”

Sano smiled at Ryunosuke and Shinpachi in amusement, and once they were alone again he asked Hitomi, “So, what happened in your dream? We’re alone, so you can tell me now.”

Hitomi’s eyes darted down and she grew slightly flushed again. “Well I was living in a house near the water, I think it was the ocean…It was so beautiful.” Her fingers once again wound around his as she continued, “And you had come back from fishing and woke me up from a nap.” She turned red and said, “and you looked really happy…and I…”

“Wait Fishing? Me? You sure I didn’t come to ask you to cut my hair because it was so tangled up in the net?” he chuckled interrupting. “Sorry Hitomi, and you…?”   
  
“Huh, Oh me?” Hitomi said, “I was happy too,  _ very happy _ .” She thought about the dream again, remembering him waking her up by calling her his wife as a child soundly sleept next to her. She looked back up at the sky and said, “I hope it comes true, Though I’m a little worried about the fishing part now.”

“Yeah, that’d be nice. I like the sea, but I don’t think I actually should try fishing,” Sano laughed. He could tell she was holding back further details from her story, but he wasn't going to pry. After all he was just pleased that it was him calling her his wife in the dream.  “Don’t worry, we can skip the fishing part,” she giggled, “maybe instead you can go and buy fish from the market instead.” 

Hitomi smiled and let out a tiny yawn. “How about we head back? I know you just woke up, but you should probably rest more.” She stood up and offered him her hands to get up as she said with a wink, “Once my patient gets back to bed I think I can get some sleep as well.”

He took ahold of her and stood up slowly, careful not to aggravate his ribs. “Yeah, let’s go to back,” Sano agreed. “Then you can get back to your happy dreams by the sea.”

When they were back in his room again he carefully laid down on his futon. After she changed her clothes she returned to his side and pulled the blanket up. "Arigatou," he said before winking at Hitomi, “Oyasumi, Tsuma~”

Her face however turned bright pink the moment he told her goodnight, and called her Tsuma. “…Sanosuke…did you just call me,” she said in surprise. She didn’t tell him that part of her dream, was it just coincidence?  She quietly slid under his blanket, lying on his futon rather than the separate one she had been sleeping on. Her head was nuzzled close to his shoulder as she reached down and grabbed his hand. “Oyasumi, Otto~”

As she closed her eyes and clung to his side Sano could no longer hold his smile back. Having a woman like her by his side was all he ever wished for, and soon enough he could make sure that he could call her his Tsuma for the rest of his life.


	13. Sunsets and Sunrises

Hitomi adjusted her floral-patterned yukata before stepping outside to meet up with everyone. Kondou and Hijikata were holding a group night out on their dime. Normally she would have stayed home, but Kondou asked her to come and help out, though she thought it was just his excuse to be able to take her along. It wasn’t often she got to leave the compound, so she would take the opportunity gladly.

She headed towards the front gate where the others had gathered, including Sanosuke. Since Serizawa was there Hitomi just gave him a smile and a slight bow. As they left for the restaurant she could tell that there was something heavy weighing on some of the captains; she wasn’t sure what it was, but she could see that same look in Sanosuke’s eyes as well.

“I can’t believe you have to work instead of enjoying this with the others,” Ryunosuke said in a grumpy tone interrupting her train of thought. Hitomi happily patted him on the shoulder, “It’s fine, it’s not often we all get a chance to go out together…so I don’t mind serving tea and sake to everyone in order so that I could come along!”

“Well I think it’s stupid, why can’t they just bring you...hey OW.” Hitomi blinked as she saw Heisuke pull on Ryunosuke’s hair. “Shut up Ryunosuke,” he said motioning towards Serizawa, “If we were going alone that’s one thing, but _HE_ is here.”  

It was a well known fact that Serizawa did not approve of Hitomi and Harada once he heard about them after they were taken by Niimi. However, since he was slowly losing his power in the Roshigumi, he didn’t do anything about it other than lecture Hijikata and Kondou to keep their men away from his female servant. Because of this Hijikata asked both of them to tone down their relationship when Serizawa was around, and they agreed. Ryunosuke thought this was also pointless, so he scrunched up his nose and muttered, “whatever.”

He hadn’t said anything to the others, but it seemed as if something was wrong with Serizawa recently. It was like he was ill, especially after he forgot who he was the other day. “I guess I should be happy that you could come as well,” Ryunosuke said with a sigh, “It would probably be no fun sitting home alone while we’re all out.”

* * *

Hijikata had a stoic look on his face as he walked with the group. They entered the private room he booked and told everyone to drink to their heart’s content. Serizawa questioned why the sudden change, so he told him that it was wrong to have the commanders fighting. He used the guise that a night out was in order to smooth things over, but the two still shared cold glares at each other.

He moved over to his seat next to Kondou and began to fall deep into thought. Hijikata had already made the plan and put everything into play. Sannan would take Harada back early using the excuse that he wasn’t feeling well in order to allow them to scope out the room. Then when Serizawa would leave, Hijikata and Okita would escort him back. This way Kondou and Saitou would be left behind with Heisuke to keep Nagakura and the others occupied and out of the compound. Then, and only then could they safely go through with their plan without worrying that anyone would meddle.

“Hijikata-san, here is your tea,” Hitomi said while serving it to him. “Oh, yes, thank you Suzume-san,” he commented, “Thanks for helping tonight.” She smiled back and said, “Thank you for inviting me, it’s nice to get out for a bit.” He nodded his head and took a sip of his tea wondering silently what everyone would think when this was all said and done.

Hitomi excused herself then walked over to Ryunosuke, Heisuke, Nagakura, and Sanosuke who were all sitting with each other. She slowly kneeled down and asked, “May I pour some tea or sake for you?”

Sano smiled at her, something that felt unusually hard considering what was about to happen. “Some sake would be nice. Thanks, Hitomi.”

Hitomi nodded and poured sake for the three of them, and some tea for Ryunosuke. She could see right through his smile, and she wondered why he looked like he was in pain. Hitomi served the rest and helped the other assistant as she brought in their food.

She waited until the others were distracted to lean in and place her hand on top of his, “Sanosuke, are you feeling OK?” A gentle smile spread on her face as she said, “I know Dr. Matsumoto cleared you, but maybe you pushed yourself a bit too hard practicing this morning.” Her fingers softly traced the lines on his hand, “If you need anything let me know ok?”

“No, that’s not it. I’m fine,” he said, trying to appear as reassuring as possible. “Don’t worry about me, okay? My injuries are healing well, and I’m feeling good.”

Hitomi looked at him suspiciously for a moment, but he must have some reason for not elaborating in front of everyone. She trusted his judgement, so she smiled once more and said, “OK, but I hope whatever weighing you down is over soon. I’m here if you need me.”  
  
Sano nodded slowly as he said, “…yeah, it’ll be over soon.”

“Suzume-san, Serizawa’s cup is empty,” Nagakura said in a carefree tone, “…and so is mine. Can you bring us more?” She nodded and said, “I’ll be there in a moment!” She squeezed his hand once more before standing up and moving to the other side of the room. Hijikata stood up and walked outside, motioning for Sano to join him.

Not sure what Hijikata wanted, he waited a few moments before walking outside to join him. “What is it, Hijikata-san? Are we starting?”

“Soon, Sanan-san will give you the signal for you both to go ahead,” he said while stretching slowly, acting as if he just needed some air, “but I wanted to give you something.” He handed over a sealed scroll. “That officially nullifies the debt agreement for Suzume-san, and it places her under Kondou-san's care.” He looked up at the sky and continued, “After tonight I’ll be the demon vice commander, so I wanted to make sure I gave that to you before everything happens.”

“Thank you Hijikata-san,” Sano replied in surprise. “She’ll be happy to hear that when it’s all over. But how did you get Serizawa to sign it?”

He shook his head, “Kondou asked the Aizu representative who gave us the order, so you have him to thank for that document. Seems her father was highly respected in Sendai, so they were willing to nullify the debt on record once _he_ …has been taken care of.”

Hijikata paused for a moment before turning around to leave, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to force myself to entertain him for a while longer.” He walked inside and said, “Hey, Kondou-san you don’t seem to be drinking enough. Suzume-san get this man another.”

“Yes Sir,” she said while moving over next to the commander.

Sano stared down at the paper in his hands for a few more moments before tucking it safely away. He looked up at the sky and even though the clouds were moving in he swore he could see the stars shining behind them. While the duty he had to fulfill still held him down, this document made him remember that they were doing this for a reason. They had to protect the Roshigumi, the people of Kyoto,  and he also had to protect the love of his life. He smiled for a moment, holding onto that small bit of happiness before walking back inside.

Time passed slowly, but finally Sannan gave the signal and he left with Harada. Hitomi was wondering why Sanosuke had left early, but she didn’t pry further when he asked her to stay there and look after Shinpachi for him. There was a seriousness in his words that she couldn’t shake. About a half hour later Serizawa took his leave as well with Okita and Hijikata. Only Saitou, Kondou, Heisuke, Ryunosuke, and Nagakura remained behind. They continued to drink and eat, but the look on Kondou’s face kept grabbing her attention -- it was the same look in Sanosuke’s eyes.

“Hitomi, you look pretty tired.”

“I do?!?” she said waking up from her daze turning to Nagakura, “Well, it has been a long day, I suppose maybe I am.” He smiled and patted her on the shoulder, “I can take you back, you probably want to check on Sano anyway right?” Hitomi smiled and asked, “Do you think It’s OK if we leave before the others?”

“Sano’s right, you work to hard,” he ruffled her hair and grinned, “Of course it’s fine! Serizawa's gone so there’s no reason for you to stay, those guys can take care of themselves.” Hitomi nodded and replied, “OK, as long as it’s fine with Kondou-san.”

Nagakura put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her over towards the group. “Kondou-san, I’m gonna take Hitomi back so she can get some sleep. Do you want to stay longer or…”

“You cannot leave,” interrupted Saitou in a stern tone.

Hitomi looked at Nagakura confused, and from that point on the rest of the evening became a complete blur. An argument erupted as Nagakura realized that the others had left to kill Serizawa under orders from Aizu. Heisuke chased after Ryunosuke to stop him from returning to headquarters. Then Hitomi witnessed something she never imagined, Saitou and Nagakura fighting against each other outside in the rain. She watched in shock, asking Nagakura to stop over and over again. The only way Saitou could get him back under control was to injure him with the back of his sword. She was thankful that it was only a superficial injury, but it was still a horrible scene to witness.

With the help of Saitou they returned Nagakura to his room, where she then treated his wound and put him to bed. Her clothes and hair were still wet from the rain, but Hitomi sat next to his futon quietly watching over him just like Sanosuke asked her to. _Now I understand why you looked that way earlier._ Hitomi closed her eyes and couldn’t imagine what Sanosuke was going through, nor the others. All she could do was sit there and wait for him to return, and to do whatever she could to help.

A little while later the door to Shinpachi’s room opened, Heisuke stepping inside. “Hitomi, I can take it from here,” he said with a sad look on his face, “You should go and see Sano, he needs you right now.” She nodded her head slightly, and as she walked past Heisuke she gave him a hug. His arms were shaking slightly as he choked back his feelings and whispered, “Arigatou.”

Sano’s room was only two doors down, but the short walk was still full of anxiety as she inched closer with each quiet step. She hesitated by his door for a moment, her heart racing as she tried to prepare herself for what state Sanosuke would be in. “Come in,” he called quietly.  She exhaled slowly once more before walking inside.

Hitomi’s heart instantly ached as she saw him sitting against the wall with a cup of Sake in his hands and a look of depression across his whole body. Without saying a word she sat down next to him, placing her hand on top of his. He seemed unsure what to say as well, opting to just let out a long sigh before taking another sip of his drink. “Shinpachi is fine, he’s resting,” Hitomi said softly, “I tired to take care of him as best I could.”

“Thanks, I’m glad you were there with them” he said while leaning against her shoulder in exhaustion. Sano closed his eyes slowly, unable to shake the heavy feelings in his heart. “There’s something you should know, about Ryunosuke,” he said knowing that by now she already learned that Serizawa was dead. His head dropped as he felt her grip his hand tighter. “After everything happened he ran off, I tried to find him, so did Heisuke, but Okita found him first...and he.” Sano paused, his own eyes glassed over for a moment, “...he fell into the river. We don’t know if he survived or not.”

Hitomi’s heart sank into her chest as he spoke those last few words. _We don’t know if he survived or not_. Her own eyes teared up as well at the thought. Could Ryunosuke really be dead? No, he wouldn’t give up so easily.  “Well, if you haven’t found him then there’s hope, right? I mean, Ibuki-kun seems to end up finding a way to always survive somehow.”

“Yeah, _Hope_ ,” he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “From all the rain the river was raging, we may never find out.” Sano pulled his hand away, clenching his fist in anger and hurt. At this point he was over having to kill his commander, orders were orders. But with Ryunosuke he couldn’t help but feel responsible for not being able to stop him from running off.

As Sano sat there unresponsive with a guilt-ridden look on his face Hitomi began to felt worse. Now he was shouldering the blame upon himself for something that was completely out of his control. “Sanosuke, don’t blame yourself,” she said grabbing his fist with both her hands, “It’s not your fault.” Hitomi rested her head against his softly and said, “I don’t blame you, and neither do the others...and you know Ibuki-kun wouldn’t want you to blame yourself either.”

Hearing that she didn’t blame him helped a bit, but he still felt just as responsible as Heisuke did. The warmth in her voice, and the calming way her hands touched his skin made him finally release his fist. Hijikata had said to all of them that It was up to Ryunosuke to survive or not at this point. They had taught him everything they could, and in the end it was up to him to understand what it really meant to “fight to live.” He just wished that he knew for sure what had happened to him.

Not wanting to talk about the painful matter further, he directed his focus to Hitomi. He put down his sake and noticed that her skin felt cold and dewey. He reached over and touched her Yukata which was soaked through. “You’re hair and clothes are wet from the rain...you must be cold,” he said standing up slowly and moving to his drawers. He pulled out a blue yukata he had and handed it over to her , “Here Hitomi, take this.”

“Arigatou,” she said while accepting the clothes then standing up to change. The yukata was massive on her, but it was dry and very kind of him to offer it. She finished dressing, hanging hers to dry in the corner.

Sano waited till he heard her finish changing to turn back around, genuinely smiling as he saw her look like a child wearing his clothes. Sometimes he forgot how tiny and fragile she was compared to himself. He walked up behind her, taking her into his arms. “Aishiteru,” he whispered while resting his chin on her shoulder for a moment. “I have something for you,” he said while releasing her from his grasp. She turned around slowly and looked at him curiously. That’s when he placed a scroll into her hands. “You should open this.”

Hitomi looked down at the paper he placed in her hands, noticing the Aizu official seal on it. She nodded and opened it, reading the text slowly. Her heart started to beat rapidly as she realized what this document was. “Sanosuke...this is,” she stuttered out in shock, “This...how did you?” Her hands shook with excitement. “I can’t believe this...I’m free?”

Sano smiled and pulled her in close, his hands holding onto her tightly, “Yes...and don’t thank me, It was Kondou-san who asked for this.” He felt her tiny hand grip his back, tears of happiness and relief falling. Sano was not proud of his role in Serizawa’s death, but in a way he had to be thankful for him one last time. He brought Hitomi to Kyoto, and now with his death she was free to live however she wanted.

“Hey now, I think that’s enough tears for you tonight,” Sano said with a small smirk while pulling away only to wipe her cheek, “Now how about you come lay down with me? I could use the company of a beautiful woman tonight.” Her cheeks turned pink as he gently tugged her towards him, following him to his bed.

Once Sanosuke laid down she joined him, crawling under the blanket and soaking in the warmth from his body. She turned onto her side, facing him with a smile, her hand resting on his chest. Hitomi layed there for a few minutes, but then noticed his heart started to race. Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong he shifted his body, hovering overtop her.  “Sanosuke…” she whispered while staring into his eyes which had almost a sparkle to them.

He stared down at her; the woman who was his light, his hope, and his dream. He wasn’t sure if this was the right time or not, but he couldn’t hold back these words any longer. “Hitomi, I don’t know what the future holds, and my work here is far from being done” he said softly, “But if I’ve learned anything over the past few weeks it’s to live every day to it’s fullest.” He suddenly gasped both her hands in his, “This may be sudden but, I want you to ask you, now that you can choose, would you be my wife?”

Hitomi stared up at him, grasping his hands tighter as her heart raced. “I would love to be your wife Harada Sanosuke,” she said happily. Almost instantaneously his head dropped and his lips grasped onto hers. This kiss was so different from the others; it was full of relief, passion, and pure bliss. He took her oxygen away, and her skin tingled as he slowly released. She took a deep breath asking, “Sanosuke, please...kiss me like that again, and again, forever…” He smirked slightly as he whispered, “Of course Hime.” He lowered his head once more, giving her exactly what she wanted...what she deserved.


End file.
